Chemostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic signatures of the Anthropocene in estuarine areas from the eastern Cantabrian coast (N. Spain)

A range of chemostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic markers of human impacts can be recorded in four estuaries located in the eastern Cantabrian coast (northern Spain). Metal-enriched levels and stable Pb isotopic ratios in dated sediment cores allowed the recognition of an ancient local episode of Pb contamination associated with mining activities during Roman times, as well as the widespread fingerprint of the Industrial Revolution and the “Great Acceleration” of human pressure after the Second World War. Micropalaeontological data (variations in foraminiferal assemblages) provided key information to identify agricultural soils in previously reclaimed and currently regenerated salt marshes, whereas anthropogenic beachrocks offered an example of the incorporation of technofossils to the coastal sedimentary record.