Shoreline changes of the Cananéia-Iguape lagoonal system (São Paulo State) have been reconstructed in detail through interpretation of aerial photographs since the 1950's. The most important changes are the recession of the northern and the advancement of the eastern side of the sandy segment of Cardoso Island, headed to the ocean, and the erosion of the lagoonal margin in the southern section of Comprida Island. The geomorphologic evolution of the southcoast of São Paulo shows to be closely related to the coastal hydrodynamic mechanisms induced by the atmospheric circulation of this part of the South American continent The interaction of these phenomena is fundamental not only to the mobility of sandy sediments, that obstruct or change the displacement of the channels that lead to the lagoonal area, but also for the erosive and depositional processes that affect the ocean side of Cardoso and Cananéia islands.
Coastal erosion; Cananéia oudet; Quaternary; Brazil