Sortable Silt Variations on the Continental Slope of Campos Basin (SW Atlantic): Implications of Oceanographic Processes

An indirect way to measure the speed of bottom currents granulometric parameters such as the proxy sortable silt (SS). This proxy is associated with the sedimentation process and can estimate paleocurrents. This study aims to evaluate the range of the near-bottom current flow speed through the SS and related to oceanographic processes in the southeastern Brazilian continental slope. The SS values ranged from 17.08 to 26.23 mu m, presenting a mean value of 19.87 mu m. The flow speed values were obtained using Ledbetter's (1986) and Miller and Komar (1977) formulas, varying from a minimum of 0.07 and 0.21 m s- 1 to a maximum of 0.24 and 0.26 m s-1. The changes in bottom velocities observed in the Campos Basin are influenced by off-shelf export of the sediment, hydrodynamic parameters (Brazil Current, Intermediate Western Boundary Current, and the Deep Western Boundary Current), and the geomorphological characteristics (island, ravine, and halokinesis movement).