APPLICATION OF MORPHOMETRIC INDICES FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF THE STRUCTURAL AND TECTONIC INFLUENCES ON THE LANDFORM OF THE ATLANTIC-TYPE CONTINENTAL MARGIN, PARAÍBA - BRAZIL

Abstract Understanding the structural and tectonic influences on the formation of the landscape and drainage network is essential for geomorphological studies of continental margins of the Atlantic type, in which seismic activities have been discounted in the past, as they did not cause immediate changes to the landform. However, with the expansion of seismographic networks and the better understanding of the development of geomorphological processes, it is now possible to understand that the structures of some landforms are consistent with the patterns imposed by tectonic processes. In this context, the principal objective of the present study is to analyze the structural and tectonic influences on the geomorphological configuration of the northeastern extreme of the state of Paraíba, in northeastern Brazil. In this research, morphological analyses were conducted and morphometric indices were applied to the interpretation of the current geomorphology configuration. The results indicate the existence of major morphological and morphometric anomalies of the landform and the drainage network of the study area. The morphological and morphometric characteristics presented here are considered to be sufficient to affirm that the configuration of the landform and the drainage network of the study area have been influenced by lithological structures and tectonic activity resulting from the ongoing tectonic separation of the continents of Africa and South America.