The study area is located off the southern coast of Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil. The morphology of the inner continental shelf was investigated by means of twenty bathymetric profiles obtained with an echosounder GARMIN GPSMAP 185 Sounder. The surveyed area is an Environmental Protection Area (APA) called Coral Coast that is characterized by the occurrence of submerged beachrocks found at 16, 20 and 22 m depth, and a paleochannel with an N-S orientation.These morphological features are related with the coastal evolution of the southern Pernambuco continental shelf during Holocene sea-level variations and their description and location will be useful in future works concerning ancient conditions of sea-level stability. Mapping of submerged beachrocks contributes, as well, to the biodiversity conservation initiatives and the national and global coral reef monitoring programs.
echosounding; submerged beachrocks; paleochannel; Pernambuco inner continental shelf
