Exploring and Mapping Marine Placers in Vigo Estuary Shoreline Using GIS Cartographic Tools

Wai L. Ng-Cutipa, Wai L. Ng-Cutipa, Ana Lobato, Francisco J. González, Georgios Periklis Georgalas, Irene Zananiri, Joana Cardoso-Fernandes, Ana Cláudia Teodoro

2025

Abstract

Marine placer deposits are accumulations of heavy minerals in coastal areas, both on beaches and in shallow water, usually consisting of ilmenite, rutile and zircon, and less commonly rare earth minerals (REEs) such as monazite and xenotime. This study investigates marine placer deposits in the Vigo Estuary (NW Spain), focusing on integrating diverse on and offshore cartographic data (geology, mineral resources, drainage, bathymetry, tides, Earth observation and others) for exploration. Six hundred two information points of marine placers have been analysed, 379 of them from shallow water, where Thiessen polygons have been spatially calculated. Our results, integrating regional cartographies in a Geographic Information System (GIS), shown great potential of placer minerals on the Santa Marta and Vao beaches (with presence of garnet, ilmenite, zircon, monazite and, locally, xenotime). This work 1) highlights the importance of collecting and analysing different previous information for marine placer exploration in integrated digital cartographies, 2) allows to program new activities to investigate local areas, 3) remark the remote sensing applications (cheap, easy and non-invasive tool), better applied to inaccessible areas, and 4) contribute to allow a sustainable resource exploration and coastal management.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Ng-Cutipa W., Lobato A., González F., Georgalas G., Zananiri I., Cardoso-Fernandes J. and Teodoro A. (2025). Exploring and Mapping Marine Placers in Vigo Estuary Shoreline Using GIS Cartographic Tools. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: S34I; ISBN 978-989-758-741-2, SciTePress, pages 339-345. DOI: 10.5220/0013496900003935

in Bibtex Style

@conference{s34i25,
author={Wai Ng-Cutipa and Ana Lobato and Francisco González and Georgios Georgalas and Irene Zananiri and Joana Cardoso-Fernandes and Ana Teodoro},
title={Exploring and Mapping Marine Placers in Vigo Estuary Shoreline Using GIS Cartographic Tools},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: S34I},
year={2025},
pages={339-345},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013496900003935},
isbn={978-989-758-741-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: S34I
TI - Exploring and Mapping Marine Placers in Vigo Estuary Shoreline Using GIS Cartographic Tools
SN - 978-989-758-741-2
AU - Ng-Cutipa W.
AU - Lobato A.
AU - González F.
AU - Georgalas G.
AU - Zananiri I.
AU - Cardoso-Fernandes J.
AU - Teodoro A.
PY - 2025
SP - 339
EP - 345
DO - 10.5220/0013496900003935
PB - SciTePress