Lost Pleistocene Territories: Exploration of Submerged Geomorphological Palaeo-Landforms along Northern Spain.

The submerged landforms that presently form part of the continental shelf of northern Spain, constituted the coastal environment during the late Pleistocene, when sea levels were significantly lower. These landscapes likely included large floodplains, various river mouths and estuarine conditions that are largely absent from modern coastal settings. These landforms are crucial for reconstructing topographic features and resource availability during the Pleistocene, prior to the inundation of the Atlantic margin during the sea level increments of the Holocene.  

The research presented is an ongoing Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) project that aims to explore the modern continental shelf and delineate areas of high potential for human territorial evidences. It employs the geophysical and sedimentary analysis of data from a series of exploration projects that were conducted along the continental shelf to investigate the palaeoenvironment, namely the PaleoSUB Project (2017-2020). Initial sea bed surveys were carried out using sonar equipment to produce digital elevation models (DEMs) and seismic datasets to serve as the foundations for the reconstruction of this submerged landscape. Moreover, the bathymetric surveys are complemented with data extracted from vibro-core samples, collected from off-shore contexts within the bathymetric survey zone. The data includes sedimentological analysis, malacofauna species and isotopic analysis, and x-ray florescent (XRF) geochemical assessments of the submarine deposits. Radiocarbon and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating were also conducted to place the datasets within a chronological framework.  

The integration and interpretation of these results allow for clearer temporal identification of palaeoshorelines and seasonal environmental variations derived from the aforementioned multiple proxy indicators. Collectively, these approaches aim to reconstruct the most accurate localised environmental scenarios along the continental shelf of northern Spain, contributing to an improved understanding of human territorial expansion through geomorphological and morphometric analyses, modelling techniques, and prehistoric contextualisation within an underwater landscape. This interdisciplinary approach is the first of its kind in the region, combining the physical properties with the theoretical knowledge of human practices.