Continental Shelf; Municipality of Salvador; Marine Sediments; Seismic Profiler; Sedimentology

Fine sediments accumulate on continental shelves under a variety of specific environmental conditions, resulting in the formation of muddy depocenters. In high sea level stands where continental shelves are flooded, these depocenters concentrate most of the continental sediments that have not been deposited on deltaic plains or aggregated to the coastline. In this way, muddy depocenters play an important role in the availability of sedimentary materials on oceanic margins during interglacial periods. Available data show that in the continental shelf adjacent of the city of Salvador, Brazil, the fine sediments are mainly concentrated in a depocenter located in a bathymetric feature denominated Baixo da Boca do Rio. This low topography apparently conditionates a sudden transition between the sand and mud sediment contents, evidencing a possible bathymetric control for the sedimentation in the study area. Comprehending a significant portion of the continental shelf, the Baixo da boca do Rio is currently under direct influence of two Ocean Sewage Disposal Systems (SDO), SDO Boca do Rio and SDO Rio Vermelho. Understanding the sedimentation aspects of this area is extremely important for its management. Data obtained through the bibliographic review and additional data collected under the supervision of Professor Dr. José Maria Landim Dominguez in the last 11 years were selected (67 samples of surface bottom sediments collected in the study area and adjacencies, 14 underwater footages obtained through scuba diving and 96km of seismic profiles). The analysis of the data obtained in the seismic survey allowed the elaboration of Bathymetric (m), Backscatter (acoustic signal reflection level) and minimum sediment thickness (m) maps of the study area. The interpretation of the profiles allowed initially to identify five eco-types which were integrated to the type of bottom surface sediment. Although these five eco-types had previously been identified for the study area, they were not described in their entirety. The bathymetric data were very similar to that described in previous works, with reentrance of the 45, 50 and 55 meter isobaths in front of the neighborhood of Boca do Rio. The external platform is separated from the internal platform by a rapid transition between the isobaths of 25 and 30 m, which, in the northeast and southeast portions, coincides with the surface boundary of the crystalline basement, defined here as irregular rocky outcrops of high and low roughness. The values of superficial Backscatter obtained varied between -46 and -92, with the highest values being associated with sandy-loam sediments, while the lowest values were related to gravel sediments and consolidated substrates, located near the coastline and around the area. The minimum sediment thickness of the sediments that fill the Baixo da boca do Rio shows non-significant sedimentary accumulations, with a mean sedimentary thickness of 5 meters. Larger thicknesses were estimated in the regions close to the coastline with maximum values close to 30 meters, corroborating data published by Nascimento (2008) that show that the top of the basement, in the drainage that falls on the coastline adjacent to the study area, places in depth up to 35 m below current sea level. It is also observed that the isopach of 2 meters tends to follow the axis of the bathymetric reentrance, starting from the coast line towards the center of the Baixo da boca do Rio, evidencing a possible structural control for the deposition of these sediments.