Lagoa da Apúlia: A residual lagoon from the Late Holocene (NW coastal zone of Portugal)

The Lagoa da Apúlia is a unique feature in the NW coastal zone of Portugal, a remaining form from a lagoon complex system that, during the Late Holocene, was dominant in the region. This system was mainly neotectonically controlled, occupying a depressed area bounded by faults on a Palaeozoic rocky lower platform, today observable on beaches at low tide. With the intention of knowing the main architecture of the palaeo-lagoon, geophysical prospecting with GPR and resistivity was carried out. Accordingly, six cores were taken and the sedimentary and mineralogical facies, and diatom and foraminifer contents were analysed, and five rich organic layers were dated by radiocarbon analysis. With the data, an evolutionary environment reconstruction model was created for this palaeo-lagoon and the main structural features of the neighbouring area.