Carbonate Dunes as Heritage Features in Mainland Portugal: A Review

Abstract

Carbonate dunes are relevant coastal landforms and record sedimentary and geomorphological past conditions, frequently related to archaeological and paleopedological evidence. The study of these landforms contributes to the comprehension of paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical modifications. The carbonate dunes are common features on Mediterranean coasts, but in the international literature, they are almost unknown in the littoral of Portugal. The excellent state of the art presented by Brooke (Brooke Earth-Science Reviews 55:135–164, 2001) only mentions the Eolianites of Madeira Island (Goodfriend et al. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 120:195–234, 1996).