Formación del placer de la playa de Montalvo (Pontevedra)

Abstract

In Montalvo beach (Pontevedra) a concentration of heavy minerals forming a placer takes place. The placer formation is related to the beach hydrodynamics that concentrates and segregates the different particles in layers. It is located in the north zone of the beach and achieves the biggest thickness in the upper zones of the profile (supratidal and upper intertidal zone). The location and the morphology of the placer, and the coincidence between the mineralogy of the heavy minerals and the lithology of the area suggest that the heavy minerals have a local source and are not moved offshore. The segregation in different layers is related to erosive states and to different cross-shore movements through seasonal cycles