Sedimentary characterization of the channel of Coreaú River’s estuary, Ceará State, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the lengthwise sedimentation of the Coreaú River’s estuary, using for thiscrossover design of GIS and construction of the Pejrup Diagram to deduce the hydrodynamic regime and its impact on the distribution of sedimentary facies. It was evident the occurrence of a high level of hydrodynamics due to the presence of coarse sediments in the river’s its mouth, and moderate and high levels of hydrodynamics along its course, depending on a combination of sediment variation and its flowing. Sedimentation pertained to a pattern of mixed estuary, where the sedimentary processes are governed predominantly by the waves in the mouth and inside the estuary by the tidal and anthropogenic actions. The sedimentation of marine origin was found at a distance of 28 km from the river’s mouth. The Pejrup Diagram proved to be a good analysis tool for the sedimentation in tropical estuaries under the influence of a semiarid climate regime