The application of geographic information systems (GIS) in the development of a suitability index for prospecting tetrapod fossils in the municipality of Lourinhã
Keywords:
Territorial planning, Dinosaurs, Lusitanian Basin, Upper JurassicAbstract
Paleontological prospection campaigns are traditionally planned around
previous knowledge of sites that have provided fossils and the interpretation
of the regional geology. The application of a suitability index developed for
the study of other rock formations (e.g. Two Medicine Formation, in Canada
and USA) in the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Lourinhã municipality (Portugal), we determined areas with a higher likelihood of providing tetrapod
fossils. The index was built using geospatial data, and through the usage of
a weighted sum it was possible to determine the values of the suitability index, and then project them unto a map of the municipality of Lourinhã. The
total area of the municipality was divided according to different suitability
indexes: lower (overall area of 29,55 km2
), medium (overall area of 78,56
km2
) and higher (overall area of 39 km2
). The application of these methods
allows considering distinct factors beyond the geology that can speed up the
decision-making process for prospecting and land management.
Downloads
References
Hill, G. (1989). “The sedimentology and lithostratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic Lourinha formation, Lusitanian Basin, Portugal” [Phd, The Open
University].
Kullberg, J., Rocha, R., Soares, A. F., Rey, J., Terrinha, P., Callapez, P., y Martins, L. (2006). “A Bacia Lusitaniana: Estratigrafia, Paleogeografia e Tectónica.” Geologia de Portugal No Contexto da Ibéria, 317–368.
Lapparent, A. F., y Zbyszewski, G. (1957). “Les dinosauriens du Portugal.” Mémoires du Service géologique du Portugal, 2, 1–63.
Manuppella, G., Antunes, M.T., Pais, J., Ramalho, M.M., y Rey, J. (1999). “Notícia explicativa da folha 30-A”. Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, 86.
Mateus, O., Dinis, J., y Cunha, P. P. (2017). “The Lourinhã Formation.” Ciências Da Terra - Earth Sciences Journal, 19(1), 75–97.
Oheim, K. B. (2007). “Fossil site prediction using geographic information systems (GIS) and suitability analysis: The Two Medicine Formation, MT, a test case.” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 251(3– 4), 354–365.
Wayne, C. (2003a). “Suitability Analysis with Raster Data.” ArcUser, AprilJune, 4.
Wayne, C. (2003b). “Suitability Analysis with Raster Data-Part 2.” ArcUser, July-September, 5.
Wills, S., Choiniere, J. N., y Barrett, P. M. (2018). “Predictive modelling of fossil-bearing locality distributions in the Elliot Formation (Upper Triassic– Lower Jurassic), South Africa, using a combined multivariate and spatial statistical analyses of present-day environmental data.” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 489, 186–197.
Zbyszewski, G., O. da Veiga Ferreira, G. Manuppella, y C. Torres de Assunção. (1966). “Notícia explicativa da folha 30-B”. Serviços Geológicos de
Portugal, 92.
Downloads
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Zubía
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Los autores que publican en Zubía conservan los derechos de autor de sus trabajos y autorizan a la revista la primera publicación de los mismos.
Los artículos se publican bajo la licencia Creative Commons Atribución–No Comercial–Compartir Igual (CC BY-NC-SA), que permite su uso, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que se cite adecuadamente la autoría original, no se realice un uso comercial y se mantenga la misma licencia.
