The inner continental shelf in front of the Massambaba beach, an East-West striking, 48 km long, double barrier beach, located between the towns of Saquarema and Arraial do Cabo presents a monotonous topography with only few outcrops of crystaline rocks, patches of beach rocks and a sediment cover of mainly relict quartz sand. The topographic gradient, steeper as expected for a passive shelf, reaches the 60 m isobath at a distance of about 4 nautical miles from the shoreline. A large outcrop of beach rock occurs at depths between 48 to 60 m, corresponding to the position of the shoreline of possibly 10,000 years ago. A small outcrop, near the profile S-4, at a depth of 4 m and distant 50 m from the beachface, is a good indication of shoreline retreat. The pattern of grain size shows a decreasing gradient both toward the East as also toward deeper waters. Input of continental sediments to the shelf is almost absent. Consequently the pattern of sediment distribution must primarily be due to the introduction of sediments trough an ancient Pleistocene drainage system, interrupted by the construction of a barrier beach, and to the reworking of sediments due to waves and currents. The interpretation of existing current measurements, as also of the grain size distribution parameters, indicate that net sediment movement is directed to the East.
Inner shelf; Geomorphology; Sediment distribution; Sediment transport; Rio de Janeiro; Brazil