Mario Cachao

The geological processes that provide building materials as well as the characterization of its lithotypes are commonly overlooked in what concerns the natural and cultural heritage of many historical buildings. The present paper focuses on the use of a particular limestone, the Liós, to build the National Palace of Ajuda located in Lisbon, Portugal. From a mere draft to a Royal residence since 1862, the inner and outer façades of the Portuguese National Palace of Ajuda hold a significant and captivating story about the rocks themselves that add significance to the already rich cultural heritage of the building. The geological nature (fossil assemblages) of the façades of this historical building is here presented, emphasizing the role of the National Palace of Ajuda as a large-scale urban geology patrimony and its importance in terms of geodiversity and geoheritage. Liós is a type of Cretaceous limestone with about 97 million years of age, particularly rich in rudist fossil assemblages, in most cases reflecting paleo-reefs produced by this extinct order of Bivalvia molluscs. The white to pinkish compact microcrystalline Liós limestone was used for centuries to build the city of Lisbon and its surroundings, including Lisbon’s most iconic buildings such as palaces and churches also having an important role during Lisbon’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. For this reason, and since the eighteenth century with the construction of the monumental Palace and Convent of Mafra, as well as the fact as being exported to the former Portuguese colonies, the Liós became known as the ‘royal stone,’ extracted from multiple quarries located inside and outside of the urban perimeter of the city of Lisbon. The National Palace of Ajuda adds further information to the Liós limestone since one of its façades shows a small coral head co-occurring with the rudists. This fossil association has never been reported in the Cretaceous (upper Cenomanian) Bica Formation from which the Liós derives. Furthermore, the importance of the Liós limestone as an ornamental stone with widespread use for construction works in Lisbon and former Portuguese colonies was highlighted when it was recognized as a Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR) and its recognition can be strengthened with the future establishment of an International Geodiversity Day.

ABSTRACTWell-preserved tracks of the wild boar Sus scrofa are described from the Matalascañas Trampled Surface (MTS) in the upper Pleistocene aeolian basal unit of the El Asperillo Cliff, Huelva (southwestern Spain). These are the first published tracks of suid pigs in the fossil record, here formally described as Suidichnus galani igen. and isp. nov. A revision of valid artiodactyl ichnogenera is provided for comparison. The large size of wild boar found in the Late Pleistocene of Spain contradicts the general trend towards smaller size known for the evolution of the species and the Bergmann's ecogeographical rule for the extant subspecies. In the present case, the remarkable large size that can be reached by these tracks is discussed as an ecomorphological adaptation of wild boars to either resource bonanza, and/or predation pressure during the Last Interglacial. The large S. scrofa scrofa identified in MTS corresponds to some of the earliest evidences known to this subspecies...

. Coccolith size matters on routine identification of calcareous nannofossil species. But morphometry can also be a tool to study their morphological plasticity and adaptations to environmental patterns. Most current studies are limited in extracting morphological plasticity data, with most statistical methods varying from histogram analysis to mixture analysis, or even multistatistical analysis, allowing the identification of morphotypes but with significant assumptions (e.g., normal distribution) on the morphological pattern of the potential different morphotypes within a population. To address this limitation a multivariate statistical morphometrical tool, Integrated Multivariate Morphon Analysis (IMMA), was developed to identify different placolith morphotypes regarding maximum coccolith length and applied to Quaternary GeoB5559-2 samples, using morphometry data of C. p. braarudii. The results show that IMMA and morphometry microvariations can be used to extract variations in upwelling intensity and primary productivity, extracting the morphological plasticity of C. p. braarudii as a response to primary productivity variations. Thus, IMMA has great potential for studies on the effects of climatic events on coastal upwelling regions during the Quaternary.

o estuário do Tejo é um dos maiores estuários da Europa ocidental cobrindo uma área de cerca de 325 km2 de extensão. A incisão do vale onde se desenvolve ocorreu durante os vários períodos glaciares do Quaternário e finalmente durante o Último Máximo Glacial, dando origem a um vale que atinge profundidades superiores a 80 m. Esta depressão morfológica é inundada por águas marinhas durante a rápida subida do nivel médio das águas do mar (N NM) do início do Holocénico, formando uma área de estuário que se estendia até Torres Novas. Após a desaceleração na taxa de subida do NNM, há ca. 7000 anos, dá-se o assoreamento da bacia e a colmatação de alguns afluentes. Iniciam-se nesta altura a formação de praias e áreas de sapal nas margens do estuário. Lisboa localiza-se na margem norte do estuário do Tejo. É uma cidade com uma história longa, que recua à Pré-história. Surge, no entanto, como cidade entre a Idade do Ferro e o Período Romano na área que hoje corresponde à zona baixa da cidade...

 DEPARTAMENTO DE CIÊNCIAS AGRÁRIAS, INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE AZORES, RUA CAPITÃO D’ÁVILA, SÃO PEDRO, PT-- ANGRA DO HEROÍSMO, AÇORES PORTUGAL, CENTRE FOR COASTAL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY, SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY, PO BOX , LISMORE, NSW , AUSTRALIA, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR BALTIC SEA RESEARCH, WARNEMÜNDE (IOW), SEESTRASSE , D- ROSTOCK, GERMANY, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO, PRAÇA DO OCEANOGRÁFICO , SÃO PAULO, SP -, BRAZIL AND

<p>The Cabo Verde Archipelago holds a remarkable sedimentary record of tsunami inundations, as highlighted by recent finds on Santiago and Maio Islands. Santiago, in particular, constitutes an exceptional site to study in detail the proximal impacts of the megatsunami(s) triggered by the well-known catastrophic flank collapse of Fogo volcano (~60 km to the west of this island) and one of the most active ocean island volcanoes in the Atlantic. Previous studies identified and documented deposits – fields of megaclasts and chaotic conglomerates on northern Santiago – which were attributed to the impact of this megatsunami(s); moreover, the pioneer use of cosmogenic <sup>3</sup>He geochronology on basaltic megaclasts quarried/displaced by the event bracketed its occurrence within the 65-84 ka time interval. Here we present the results of a recent study conducted within the remit of the project UNTIeD, which combined detailed field surveys and U-Th disequilibrium geochronology to review and further document the tsunamigenic conglomerates of Santiago and gain additional insights into their formative event(s). We can confirm the presence of tsunami conglomerates on several sectors of the island, chiefly in the north and southeast of the island. Furthermore, on the northern sector, our study suggests the presence of two distinct sets of deposits, of differing ages, as corroborated by U-Th geochronology on corals entrained in the conglomerates. The older set of deposits is restricted to 60–100 m in elevation and yielded coral ages at the upper limit of U-Th techniques (200-450 ka); its origin is still uncertain. The younger and most widespread chaotic deposit can be found from 0 to 100 m in elevation, is poorly consolidated, and mostly mantles a topography partially carved on the older deposit. Coral ages are very widespread from ~58 to >400 ka (as commonly observed in tsunami deposits) but with the higher-confidence younger ages clustering around 58-65 ka, in agreement with the youngest cosmogenic ages. This suggests a more constricted timing for Fogo's (main) megatsunami at around 58-65 ka, in close agreement with recent studies at Fogo. A distinct and younger deposit, of Holocene age, can only be found at low elevations in Nossa Senhora da Luz Bay and likely represents a local event possibly triggered by a small submarine landslide. Taken together, these finds not only provide a better time constraint and insights on the impact of Fogo's megatsunami but reinforce the notion that the Cabo Verde Islands have been impacted by multiple tsunamis in the last 500 ka.</p><p>This work was supported by project PTDC/CTA-GEO/28588/2017 - LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-028588 UNTIeD, co-funded by the ERDF through POR Lisboa 2020 and FCT, and by projects IF/01641/2015 MEGAWAVE and FCT/UIDB/50019/2020 - IDL, also funded by FCT.</p>

Abstract A comprehensive and detailed account is presented of the calcareous nannofossil evolution across the Toarcian and Early Aalenian from the strategically located Lusitanian Basin in Portugal. The basin connected NW Tethys and Mediterranean water masses during the Toarcian and thus the in situ nannoplankton community responded to this double influence. Biostratigraphic control by ammonites from two well calibrated and continuous sections was compared to an intermediate section, which rendered a complete 286 m of Toarcian and lower Aalenian succession. Quantification of calcareous nannofossils, Factor Analysis, stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis from brachiopods shells was performed. Temperature, water masses exchanges and primary productivity were highlighted by three extracted factors. Three major ecological events were identified in this work. Throughout the Early Toarcian during the onset of a warming transgressive period with an intensified hydrological cycle where calcareous nannoplankton thrived, NW Tethys waters started flooding the Lusitanian Basin which became dominated by Mediterranean taxa such as M. jansae and Schizosphaerella . Water mixing between NW European and Mediterranean water masses occurred, as recorded by nannofossil assemblages typical of the two provinces. Across the middle and part of the Late Toarcian, as climatic conditions stabilized during the long-term regressive period that had just begun, NW European connections were still effective, waters became more stratified and primary productivity decreased as indicated by the δ 13 C data, the coeval decrease in total nannofossil abundances and increase in diversity. From part of the Late Toarcian, the connection between north and south water masses was diminutive and Mediterranean waters filled and dominated the basin, as inferred from the steady increase in Schizosphaerella and the near disappearance of Crepidolithus crassus . The calcareous nannoplankton increase in abundance and decrease in diversity show that under a humid climate, environmental conditions in such a shallow basin would tend to be more meso-eutrophic.

The c. 100 myr extensive fossil record of bee brood nests and cells (calichnia) in siliciclastic sedimentary deposits, or palaeosols, is virtually devoid of the presence of their producers. The absence of a more specific assignment to a producer of the different ichnogenera of the ichnofamily Celliformidae precludes their use in phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic studies. Omission surfaces developed in incipient carbonate palaeosols during the late Holocene (middle Neoglacial), c. 2975 yr cal BP, on the southwest coast of mainland Portugal show insect calichnia in dense ichnofabrics dominated by shallow discrete cells (Palmiraichnus castellanosi) and cells at the terminus of vertical shafts. At Carreira Brava, one of the studied sites, bees ready to abandon their cells were found in an exceptional state of preservation inside the sealed brood chambers. The chambers also preserve the inner cell hydrophobic polymerized membrane and remains of the monospecific Brassicaceae‐type polle...

In the Iberian Peninsula the fossil record of artiodactyls spans over 53 million years. During the Pleistocene, wild cattle species such as Bison and especially Bos became common. In Late Pleistocene, the aurochs (Bos primigenius) was widespread and the only bovine living along the large river valleys of southern Iberia. Although commonly found in fossil sites and especially in cave bone assemblages, the trace fossil record of aurochs was known worldwide only from the Holocene. Large bovine and roe deer/caprine tracks were found in at least five horizons of the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5) beach and eolian deposits of Cape Trafalgar (Cadiz Province, South of Spain). The large bovine tracks are formally described as Bovinichnus uripeda igen. et isp. nov. and compared with the record of aurochs tracks, large red deer tracks and steppe bison biogeographical distribution in Iberia. Aurochs were the most likely producers of the newly described Trafalgar Trampled Surface (TTS) and some ...

espanolLa Cuenca de Cabrela (occidente de la Zona de Ossa-Morena) ha sido objeto de un estudio geologico detallado en los ultimos anos. Este trabajo es parte de ese estudio, que se centra en la bioestratigrafia de conodontos y dacrioconaridos de las rocas carbonatadas de la cuenca, en particular, la secuencia de la Formacion Pedreira da Engenharia, que tiene la mejor exposicion y es accesible en una cantera abandonada. Esta secuencia ha permitido el reconocimiento de dos biozonas de conodontos (costatus y australis), correspondientes a la edad del Eifeliense temprano a medio. Debido a la mala preservacion, los dacrioconaridos por el momento no pueden ser identificados. EnglishThe Cabrela Basin (western Ossa-Morena Zone) has been the subject of a detailed geologic study in the past few years. This work is part of that study, focusing on the conodont and dacryoconarid biostratigraphy of the carbonate rocks of the basin, namely, the sequence of the Pedreira da Engenharia Formation, whi...

Abstract The Early Jurassic nannofossil Schizosphaerella has displayed major changes in its mean valve size through time. These variations are investigated in detail in the Sinemurian to lowermost Toarcian of the Sancerre-Couy core (Paris Basin), based on previously published measurements of 7050 specimens. Through multivariate morphon analysis and mixture analysis, we decipher three distinct overlapping varieties of Schizosphaerella (small, medium, large) and show that mean size changes of this taxon can be mostly related to variations in the relative abundance of these three varieties. Comparison to facies changes and to newly and previously acquired geochemical data (bulk carbonate C and O isotopes and organic C isotopes, %CaCO3 and TOC) suggest that, whilst sea-surface temperature was indeed an important driver of size changes in Schizosphaerella, it is insufficient on its own to explain the full variability of our dataset. Likewise, sea-level controlled proximal-distal variations and levels of nutrient supply were additional drivers of Schizosphaerella size changes. The small population of Schizosphaerella remains, however, a good indicator for warmer episodes.

Tracks and trackways of newborns, calves and juveniles attributed to straight-tusked elephants were found in the MIS 5 site (Upper Pleistocene) known as the Matalascañas Trampled Surface (MTS) at Huelva, SW Spain. Evidence of a snapshot of social behaviour, especially parental care, can be determined from the concentration of elephant tracks and trackways, and especially from apparently contemporaneous converging trackways, of small juvenile and larger, presumably young adult female tracks. The size frequency of the tracks enabled us to infer body mass and age distribution of the animals that crossed the MTS. Comparisons of the MTS demographic frequency with the morphology of the fore- and hind limbs of extant and fossil proboscideans shed light into the reproductive ecology of the straight-tusked elephant, Palaeloxodon antiquus. The interdune pond habitat appeared to have been an important water and food resource for matriarchal herds of straight-tusked elephants and likely functio...

PurposeIsolated theropod teeth are abundant in the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin and are an important source to reconstruct the diversity of this group as well as its geographic and stratigraphic distribution. However, reliably identification of isolated teeth is complex, especially for those morphotypes related to poorly represented groups. Herein a set of isolated theropod teeth collected in different sites from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin ranging from the late Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian in age are described and discussed.MethodsThese teeth were grouped in seventeen distinct morphotypes based first on morphology and comparative anatomy. Multivariate statistical analyses were performed in order to assign each morphotype to a certain taxon.ResultsThe current analysis shows the presence of several groups of theropods such as Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, and Allosaurus beside morphotypes identified as belonging to indeterminate Megalosauroidea and Allosauroidea and morphotypes tentatively assigned to Tyrannosauroidea, Dromaeosauridae, and Richardoestesia. This faunal composition, namely the presence of a non-megalosaurid megalosauroid possibly related to the piatnitzkysaurid Marshosaurus, indicates a higher diversity of theropods in the Late Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin than previously known, based on more complete specimens. Results obtained from this analysis partially agree with previous studies of other collections with isolated theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal such as those of the Guimarota coal mine. However, the presence of velociraptorine dromaeosaurids, compsognathids, and troodontids reported from this site could not be confirmed in the sample herein analyzed. This analysis also indicates a great similarity of the theropod faunas from the Late Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin and other European chronocorrelative localities such as those from Spain and Germany.ResumenObjetivoLos dientes aislados de dinosaurios terópodos son un registro abundante en el Jurásico Superior de la cuenca lusitánica pudiendo llegar ser una importante contribución para comprender la diversidad y la distribución geográfica y estratigráfica de estas faunas. Sin embargo, la identificación de dientes aislados y su asignación a un determinado taxón es compleja, especialmente en el caso de morfotipos relacionados con grupos poco conocidos en el mismo registro. En este estudio se presenta el resultado del análisis de un conjunto de dientes aislados de terópodos procedentes de diferentes localidades de la cuenca lusitánica datadas en el Jurásico Superior, concretamente entre el Kimmeridgiense superior y el Tithoniense superior.MétodosEstos dientes se han agrupado en diecisiete morfotipos a partir del estudio morfológicco y de la comparación anatómica. Se realizaron análisis estadístico multivariante para comprobar la identificación de cada morfotipo.ResultadosEl resultado de este análisis ha revelado una gran diversidad de grupos de terópodos que incluye Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus y Allosaurus además de morfotipos identificados como pertenecientes a Megalosauroidea indet. y Allosauroidea indet. Además, se han reconocido también algunos morfotipos preliminarmente asignados a Tyrannosauroidea, Dromaeosauridae y Richardoestesia. Esta composición faunística, tal como la presencia de non-megalosauridos megalosauroides posiblemente relacionado al piatnitzkysaurido Marshosaurus, sugiere una mayor diversidad de terópodos de la que se conoce actualmente a partir de ejemplares más completos. Los resultados obtenidos soportan, en parte, algunos estudios previos de otras colecciones con dientes aislados del Jurásico Superior de Portugal, como por ejemplo los de la mina de Guimarota. No obstante, la presencia de terópodos velociraptorinos, compsognathidos y troodontidos, citados en Guimarota, no se ha podido confirmar en la muestra estudiada. Este análisis indica también una grande semejanza de las faunas de terópodos del Jurásico Superior de la cuenca lusitánica y de otras localidades sincrónicas europeas como por ejemplo de España y Alemania.

In this work we present preliminary results of the study of one sediment core (EDP1), collected near Cais do Sodré, Lisbon downtown, close to the present day Tagus riverfront. The results allowed differentiation of 4 major sediment units that present a signature of increasing anthropic influence over time. The lowermost unit (Unit 1) corresponds to a subtidal flat accreting in low energy and brackish conditions. This sedimentation pattern is interrupted by high-energy deposition of Unit 2, characterized by higher density and diversity of the foraminiferal content and high content of other bioclasts remains (Sub-unit 2A) and by the incorporation of several anthropic elements, such as 17th-18th century ceramics (Sub-unit 2B). Given the radiocarbon chronological framework and type and dates of the anthropic materials included in both sub-units of Unit 2, they are tentatively related with either the 1724 extreme storm and/or the 1755 tsunami. The abrupt drop in coccolith densities in th...

Distribution of living rhodoliths in the Macaronesian realm is limited by extensive rocky shores and narrow insular shelves that rapidly drop off beyond the 50-m isobath. Wind and wave erosion is most intense on north and northeast-facing shores due to the prevailing northeasterly trade winds over much of the region. Southern shores offer more sheltered, leeward settings. Rhodolith beds tend to thrive on eastern shores with strong long-shore currents and southeastern shores that benefit from wave refraction. Rhodoliths are not entirely absent off northern shores, but may fail to reach maximum size before being washed ashore to make berms and beaches. Islands considered in greater detail in this survey include Santiago, Maio, and Sal from the Cape Verde Islands, Fuerteventura and the related islet of Lobos in the Canary Islands, Selvagem Grande and Pequena from the Savage Islands, Porto Santo in the Madeira Islands, and Santa Maria in the Azores. This contribution expands on the concept that living rhodoliths enter the fossil record through a range of taphofacies defined by the degree of breakage and corrosion and further characterized by sedimentological criteria regarding the amount of matrix and packing among bioclasts. Rhodolith deposits in Macaronesia seldom reflect settings under natural growth conditions. Rather, rhodoliths are subject to transportation and post-mortem disintegration resulting in the accumulation of rhodolith materials captured by subtidal storm deposits, tidal pools and platform over-wash deposits, as well as beachrock, beach, berm, hurricane, tsunami, and coastal dune deposits. Some of this material is transferred farther offshore, but exposed island strata show a tendency for shoreward migration of taphofacies. Rhodolith beds provide a habitat for some species of marine invertebrates, including epifaunal and infaunal elements directly associated with whole rhodoliths and these features play a role in rhodolith biostratinomy.

Rhodoliths are a common producer of carbonates on modern and ancient shelves worldwide, and there is growing evidence that they thrive on volcanic insular shelves. However, little is still known on how rhodoliths cope with the demands of this particularly dynamic environment. In this study, the focus is placed on fossil rhodoliths from a Pliocene sequence at Santa Maria Island, Azores, in order to gain further insight into the life cycle (and death) of rhodoliths living within a mid-ocean active volcanic setting. These rhodoliths occur as a massive accumulation within a larger submarine volcano-sedimentary sequence that was studied from the macro- to the micro-scale in order to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions under which the rhodolith accumulation was deposited and buried. All fossil rhodoliths from this setting are multi-specific and demonstrate robust growth forms with a lumpy morphology. Moreover, taphonomical analyses show the succession of several destructive events during rhodolith growth, suggesting life under a highly dynamic system prior to stabilization and burial. The rhodoliths therefore tell a story of an eventful life, with multiple transport and growth stages, owing to the environment in which they lived. Transport and deposition to their final resting place was storm-associated, as supported by the general sedimentary sequence. In particular, the sequence features an amalgamation of tempestites deposited under increasing water depths, sediment aggradation, and before burial by volcanic activity. This transgressive trend is also attested by the overall characteristics of the volcano-sedimentary succession, which exhibits the transition to subaerial environment in excess of 100 m above the rhodolith bed.

Abstract The use of rocky palaeoshore bioerosion analy-sis as a tool to solve stratigraphic and tectonic issues is beginning to bear fruits. The occurrence of an extensive intra-Miocene marine abrasion platform in southern Portu-gal at Oura (Albufeira) has been identified on the ...

Changes in coccolithophore productivity in response to climate-driven ocean warming are likely to have cascading biogeochemical effects that feed back to the changing climate. This paper investigates the role (and interplay) of large-scale oceanographic and atmospheric processes across the North- and Equatorial Atlantic, including Saharan dust deposition, on the distribution of coccolithophore communities. The study is based on biological and hydrological data collected across the photic zone of the ocean, and aerosol data collected from the lower atmosphere, across 50°N–1°S during the Atlantic Meridional Transect in boreal Autumn of 2018 (AMT28), in synergy with Earth Observations. Results confirm existing understanding of the distribution of coccolithophore communities which are related to major meridional hydrological gradients across the North Atlantic. Dynamic, oxygenated and microphytoplankton-enriched waters at higher-latitudes were characterized by less diverse coccolithopho...

Submarine canyons are deep and steep incisions on the continental margins. The physical forcing mechanisms linked with these marine systems, such as the enhancement of upwelling and bottom sediment resuspension, are expected to provide a nutrient source that will increase phytoplankton density (Hickey, 1995, Kampf,2006). Coccolithophores are the predominant phytoplanktonic group within the calcareous nannoplankton and their sensitivity to a variety of surface water environmental parameters makes them important markers of oceanographic processes and proxies of sea surface water masses and temperatures, productivity and past climate changes (e.g. Ziveri et al., 2004; Silva et al., 2008). In the present work we propose to test compositional analysis (Buccianti & Esposito, 2004; Pawlowsky-Glahn & Egozcue, 2006) as a tool to: a) achieve a clearer distinction between opportunistic coastal-neritic species (r-strategists) and typical oceanic species (k-strategists) in the central Portuguese...

This book addresses one of the strategies to popularize the geological evolution of Porto Santo island (Madeira Archipelago) in the context of its future geopark. The idea of comparing the evolutionary stages of a volcanic island with the main stages of development of a person emerged from the scientific activities held in Porto Santo since 1999, in the context of the Summer Geology program, sponsored by the Ciência Viva Agency in partnership with the Universities of Madeira
(Centre for Macaronesian Studies) and of Lisbon (Lisbon University Geology Centre), represented respectively by our colleagues Domingos Rodrigues and Carlos Marques da Silva.
This initiative is part of the final celebrations of the International Year of Planet Earth, with institutional support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), through its AIPT 2008 National Committee (www.progeo.pt/aipt). At the same time, it is one of the first initiatives undertaken in the context of the future Porto Santo Geopark. Geoparks are already a reality in our country with two excellent examples: Naturtejo and Arouca. Both are part of the European Network of Geoparks, and are recognized by UNESCO for the excellence of their activities in disseminating knowledge of natural heritage in general and geology in particular.
For it is essential that people get to know and take pride in nature and the geological heritage, in which they are privileged to live, that being the only way actively and effectively to preserve it.
Comparing an island with a person (in this instance a woman), enables a human time-scale to be applied to the vast and varied range of geological processes that have taken place in Porto Santo, and can be observed and interpreted by reading the alphabet in which the history of the Earth is written, namely the rocks.
To make everyone, young and not so young alike, aware of this heritage is one of the purposes of this book. That is why there are two texts, the first specifically for children followed by another specially aimed at teenagers and adults.
We hope that this book will, on the other hand, appeal to younger readers, awakening them from an early age to the interpretation of landscapes and to the preservation of the natural heritage and, on the other, will show how geoscientists observe and interpret landscapes, outcrops and
rocks.
Porto Santo, May 3, 2009
Mário Cachão & Vanda Dias