Terraces of the Guadiana River between the Pulo do Lobo water fall and Pomarão - discussions about the evolution of the river in the late Pleistocene and Holocene

Abstract

The terraces of the Guadiana River were mapped in the stretch between Pulo do Lobo and the Pomarão village. In this work we used the river terraces to estimate the uplift rate and to understand the main controls driving the river's incision throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Four terrace levels were identified upstream of Pulo do Lobo and five terraces in the downstream reach. Uplift rates ranging between 0.071 m/ka and 0.041 m/ka were estimated. Since the mid-Holocene to the Present, the eustatic sea level variation appears to have been the main trigger for river incision.