Rosa Marques

• Doctor in Georesources
• Researcher at University of Lisbon

Vila Nova de São Pedro (VNSP) has been classified as a production center of artefacts of diverse types, including prestigious and symbolic items. Among these, this work highlights a set of symbolic artifacts of a lithic nature – the so-called cylindrical idols – that belong to the collection of the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo. In this museum, in ad...

Background and Aims Many studies have considered whether all forms of rare earth elements (REEs) in the soil are potentially bioavailable. The general consensus is that the exchangeable and carbonate-bound mineral pool is bioavailable. However, within the rhizosphere, site-specific geochemical conditions and biological weathering (due to plants, an...

Geochemical mapping is the base of knowledge needed to determine the critical contents of potential toxic elements and the potentially hazardous regions on the planet. This work presents maps of baseline values of chemical elements in the soils of Sal Island (Cape Verde) and the assessment of their ecological and human health risks. According to th...

The Santa Vitória Chalcolithic site (southern Portugal) prompts several questions related to the provenance and production technology of artefacts. Archaeological ceramics from two sections of Ditch 1 of the Santa Vitória site were studied by neutron activation analysis and X-ray diffraction for the first time, with the main goal of contributing to...

This paper discusses the archaeological research and historical contextualisation of the Alto da Raia enclosure located on the border between northern Portugal and Galicia, identified as a possible Roman camp, following an interdisciplinary and multi-proxy approach. This included archaeological excavation, remote sensing and geophysical survey, as...

A passive remediation system was installed between 2010 and 2015 at the Lousal legacy mine site in southwestern Portugal to minimize the impact of AMD. This is the first study of the geochemical behaviour of rare earth elements (REE) in the area after implementation of the passive treatment system. The total and dissolved concentrations of REE is s...

Rare earth elements (REE), a group of emerging contaminants with commercial and technological applications, share many physical and chemical characteristics and have thus been used as accurate tracers of various environmental samples. They have been shown to increase in receiving waters following the dissolution of host-rock material during mining...

Este trabajo define las principales características sedimentológicas, paleontológicas y geoquímicas de la Unidad Arenas de Trigueros, depositada durante el Messiniense en un contexto global de bajada de nivel del mar. Esta unidad se diferencia no mente del resto de la Formación Arcillas de Gibraleón por su mayor tamaño de grano, la presencia de niv...

New insights about the geochemical behavior of actinides and lanthanides in an old uranium mine are provided for the first time in this work. Fifteen samples (water, soil, and sediments) were collected inside and outside the Quinta do Bispo old mine (Portugal) in order to better understand the lanthanide and actinide behavior in the soil–water syst...

Unlike acidic sulfide mine wastes, where metal/loid mobility and bioaccessibility has been widely studied, less attention has been paid to alkaline cyanide heap leaching wastes. Thus, the main goal of this study is to evaluate the mobility and bioaccessibility of metal/loids in Fe-rich (up to 55%) mine wastes resulting from historical cyanide leach...

Multivariate analyses have been applied to the REE contents of three cores collected in the Tinto estuary, SW Spain, an extremely polluted area. Results indicate an extremely correlation between all REE, which behave as a single variable. A slight natural pollution peak and three anthropogenic pollution peaks are identified, related with the first...

A contribution to the discussion about Vila Nova de São Pedro (VNSP) as a production centre of symbolic lithic artefacts, the origin of raw materials, as well the comparison with similar artefacts from other Chalcolithic sites are the major goals. For the first time, non-destructive analytical methods were employed to obtain a detailed chemical cha...

The Tinto and Odiel rivers (SW Spain) drain from a vast sulfide mining district and join at a 20-km-long estuary that enters the Atlantic Ocean. In this work, the contents of rare earth elements (REE) and fractionation in Neogene–Holocene sediment cores from La Fontanilla cove (Tinto estuary) were studied. The sediments were collected from a depth...

Volcanic regions are associated with increased environmental and human health risks due to elevated concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Fogo Island, Cape Verde, experienced recent volcanic eruptions, which raised the questions around the potential for local soils to pose such risks. In order to better understand the relationships b...

Modern mining activities often leads to destruction of archaeological records, making difficult to date the contexts and tools. In this work, a prehistoric mine with “fire-setting” techniques evidence was used to demonstrate the relevance of luminescence protocols to identify and date ancient mining activities. Chemical and mineralogical studies co...

This paper presents the easternmost mineralogical and geochemical evidence of the 1755 Lisbon tsunami found in the Western Mediterranean. This multidisciplinary analysis of a sediment core obtained in Gibraltar (southern Iberian Peninsula) has allowed us to differentiate a tsunamiite from an old lagoon (The Inundation). This tsunamigenic layer has...

Natural radionuclides K, Th and U were evaluated for the first time on volcanic soils of Fogo Island (Cape Verde) aiming to contribute for the background concentration of radiogenic elements in these soils, assessing radiation risk, and allowing accurate chronological luminescence studies. Potassium and particularly U appear to be more mobilized in...

Volcanic regions are associated with increased environmental and human health risks due to elevated concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Fogo Island, Cape Verde, experienced recent volcanic eruptions, which raised questions about local soils' potential to pose such risks. To better understand the local mineralogy and geochemistry, a...

In this study, the geochemistry and mineralogy of regoliths formed on Fogo Island (Cape Verde), a polygenic stratovolcano built during the Quaternary, are used to assess the geomorphological factors that control the early stages of basalt weathering. Fogo Island soils are mainly derived from relatively homogenous silica-undersaturated basaltic rock...

Root extracts from Danube Delta Nymphaea alba were used to prepare gold nanoparticles (AuNPRn) by reducing HAuCl4 at different pHs (6.4–8.4) using ultrasonic irradiation: an easy, cheap, eco-friendly and green approach. Their antibacterial and anticancer activities were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and A2780 ovarian...

The multidisciplinary analysis (dating, texture, total mineralogy) of two deep cores collected in the Doñana National Park (SW Spain) allows to distinguish the main features of three tsunami deposits found in three different paleoenvironmental scenarios (TSU-1: inner area of an open lagoon; TSU-2: inner area of a restricted lagoon; TSU-3: outer are...

Instrumental neutron activation analysis is applied for the determination of 28 chemical element concentrations in seven geological reference materials (USGS), namely CMP-1, COQ-1, NKT-1, SyMP-1, G-3, SSAR-1, and SBC-1. The results are reported contributing to the establishment of new elemental database of novel current available reference material...

In 2015 an extraordinary hydrometeorological event occurred in the southern Atacama Desert (northern Chile) that resulted in a catastrophic flood in the city of Copiapó. A large volume of detrital sediments was transported downstream, provoking an economic and environmental disaster in the Copiapó Valley, a region dominated by mining activity. Load...

Intrusive carbonatites from a fluvial valley near Monte Almada (Fogo Island, Cape Verde), corresponding to the oldest unit of the island (≈4.5 Ma) occur under alkaline lavas and tuffs of more recent age in two slopes, with a very steep inclination. Its exposure with the water line fitting led to the weathering of the outcrops, and the materials are...

This paper studies the benthic foraminifera from a continuous core extracted in the Doñana National Park (SW Spain). In this core, the foraminiferal assemblages confirm the presence of a Late Holocene lagoon (historically so-called Lacus Ligustinus) during the Roman period, about 2000 years ago. The more open, deepest areas of this lagoon were domi...

The elemental content—mainly trace elements—of samples from two boreholes (PLN, CM) with evidence of tsunamiites, located in the Doñana National Park (SW Spain), were studied. The geochemical variations of the REE, LILE, HFSE, and other elements (Al, Ti, S, Na, Br, Sc, Co, Cr) were interpreted according to the mineralogy present in the samples. The...

Portuguese museums and private collectors gather a variety of Italian glazed terracotta sculptures attributed to the della Robbia workshop, particularly active between the 15th and 16th centuries. Compositional studies of the paste using INAA, PGAA and XRD and enamel using PIXE, and luminescence protocols, were used as a tool to ascertain the attri...

A multidisciplinar analysis of sediments collected in different environments of the Doñana National Park (Guadalquivir estuary, SW Spain) provides an overview of the textural, mineralogical and physico-chemical parameters that control the distribution of benthic foraminifera in this Biosphere Reserve. These microorganisms are absent in the fine qua...

The Doñana National Park is a Biosphere Reserve located within the estuary of the Guadalquivir River (SW Spain). It is mainly composed of extensive fluvio-tidal marshes partially protected by an elongated sandy spit. Three phases have been distinguished in the late Holocene evolution of this spit based on textural, geochemical, palaeontological and...

Estuaries are very sensitive ecosystems to human activities and the natural evolution of their drainage basins located upstream. Pollution derived from human activities, such as historical mining or recent industrial wastes, can significantly affect their environmental quality. This paper analyzes the silver and copper contents of four cores extrac...

The analysis of shell deposits eroded by a ebb-tide channel on Saltés Island (Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain) resulted in the identification of a new shell midden, associated with the activity of a nearby Roman factory over the 4th-5th centuries CE. This midden differs from other old shell deposits (sandy tidal flats, cheniers, washover fans) in sev...

The southwestern Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula presents an important Roman heritage that includes numerous fish-salting workshops, with an industrial activity that went on for almost a millennium (1st century BC-7th century AD). Nevertheless, a future broad research is still necessary to determine the geologic substratum on which they are...

An interdisciplinary approach comprising archaeological, chemical, mineralogical, and luminescence data was applied to a better understanding of the fill dynamic and chronologies of a calcite-rich negative archaeological feature from Southern Portugal. This work aims to contribute to the assessment of the human involvement in the backfilling action...

A brown paleosol developed on mafic lava and overlain by lapilli (Campanas profile, northern part of the Fogo Island, Cape Verde archipelago) was studied. The detailed iron speciation obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization confirmed that oxidation is a major chemical paleoweathering mechanism, as it still is in present day soils of th...

During the late Neogene, the Mediterranean Sea was connected with the Atlantic Ocean by two straits: the northern Betic Strait and the southern Rifian Strait. In this paper, we analyze the main palaeoenviromental changes produced in the western sector of the Betic Strait during the late Tortonian–middle Messinian (7.4–6 Ma). The temporal evolution...

A lacustrine carbonate facies has been investigated in Middle Miocene successions of the western side of the Moura-Marmelar basin, Southern Portugal in order to evaluate paleoenvironments in which carbonates formed, by using geochemistry and mineralogy. The studied formation corresponds to a recent unearthed section of a calcrete with an homogeneou...

The genesis and development of calcretes are discussed by using nuclear and related methods of analyses. In the studied calcrete, smectite is the main clay mineral associated with palygorskite. Chemical elements proportions, particularly V, U, Mn, Cu, Ba and REE, indicate a change to more oxidizing conditions and the contribution of bio-mediated pr...

El análisis multidisciplinar de un perfil descubierto por las tormentas invernales en el litoral del Parque Nacional de Doñana ha permitido reconstruir la evolución de su sector occidental durante el Holoceno superior. Se han definido 3 fases que reflejan el paso desde una marisma de aguas salobres (FA-1) a una laguna de aguas dulces transformada e...

A first detailed study of phpsphgypsum (PG) from a stockpile in Barreiro (Portugal) (...) considering its content in natural radionuclides and toxic metals (...). (...)significant chemical heterogeneity (...) occurs due to the existence of aggregates with different compositions randomly distributed. (...). (...) dark grey ones have high concentrati...

A multidisciplinary analysis of Holocene sediments from La Cascajera (Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain) has allowed to differentiate five sedimentary facies (sandy tidal flat, clayey tidal flat, washover fan, salt marsh, edaphic horizon), according to their granulometric characteristics, internal structure, mineralogical composition, clay mineral asse...

Three zones are differentiated in the marine sector of the Guadalquivir estuary (SW Spain), according to a multidisciplinary analysis (water, sediment, foraminifera). Both salinities and pH increase from the innermost areas (zone 1: Ammonia tepida) to the mouth (zone 3: Ammonia beccarii), with an intermediate zone 2 (Ammonia beccarii-Triloculina tr...

Climate and rich volcanic soils of Fogo Island (Cape Verde) are optimal conditions for grape agriculture. This study aims a first evaluation of the bioaccumulation of essential and non-essential elements in different parts of vines of the same variety (Vitis vinifera L.), grown on recent pyroclasts and lahar deposits. Chemical composition was obtai...

Old mine tailings from Northern and Central Portugal were studied in order to perform a radiological and chemical characterization. The evaluation of massic activity of natural radionuclides and concentrations in tailings of polymetallic and Ra/U mines was performed by gamma spectrometry and neutron activation analysis. Iron speciation was carried...

The abandoned Jales mining area is a sulphide-rich deposit (Northeast of Portugal). Acid mine drainage resulted from oxidation of sulphides is treated in a passive system with wetlands. The present work studies the thorium and uranium behaviour in the water and in the fine fractions of wetland soils throughout the passive treatment system. The eval...

Topsoils developed in different geological formations/ages, and the top layer of the lava flow from the most recent eruption (2014/2015) of Fogo Island (Cape Verde archipelago), were studied. The specific objectives of this work are: i) to estimate the REE contents and patterns in the whole sample of topsoils developed on different geological forma...

REE have unique properties that are mostly used to manufacture high tech devices. Most REE have geochemical properties that cause them to be typically dispersed and not often found in concentrated and economically exploitable forms, and difficult to separate. The ENVIREE project aims to develop environmentally friendly and efficient methods for the...

In order to acquire a better knowledge of iron forms, clay minerals and the content and distribution of trace elements in soils mostly used for agriculture in the semi-arid Brava Island (Cape Verde), iron speciation, mineralogy and chemical contents in the clay-size fraction (<2 μm) of incipient soils developed on sediments and phonolitic pyroclast...

Geochemistry of mudrock units deposited in the sedimentary basin of Algarve (South Portugal) during Mesozoic and Cenozoic depositional cycles were studied, aiming a better knowledge of the evolution of the Basin. Two types of mudrock units were found: (i) silicic and Ca-poor (Cretaceous and Cenozoic), and (ii) calcareous (Middle–Upper Jurassic Ca-r...

The rare earth elements (REE) along with iron and manganese distribution in ochre-precipitates and wetland soils in a passive system for acid mine drainage treatment (Jales, Portugal) was studied. The results obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis showed a higher incorporation of the light REE (particularly La and Ce) by the ochre-pre...

Topsoils of pyroclastic materials collected on two volcanic conduits of the Chã das Caldeiras caldera of the oceanic Fogo Island (Cape Verde) were studied. Significant positive Eu anomalies were found in both pre-historic and historic cones, which together with the presence of jarosite, may be considered hydrothermal signatures that survived in thi...

On April 23rd 2013 at 2:07 a.m., a 1.3 kg meteorite fell in the Braunschweig suburb Melverode (52° 13′ 32.19″ N. 10° 31′ 11.60″ E). Its estimated velocity was 250 km/h and it formed an impact pit in the concrete fall site with a diameter of 7 cm and a depth of 3 cm. Radial dust striae are present around the impact pit. As a result of the impact, th...

Extrusive carbonatite ash tuff (Tantum) and spatter (Monte Miranda) deposits, and topsoils from both sites of Brava Island (Cape Verde archipelago) were studied by neutron activation analysis, X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The ash tuff deposit near Tantum, here reported for the first time, corresponds to an extrusive calciocarbonati...

In Portugal, the industrial production of phosphate fertilizers, has been dealing with a specific raw material—north African phosphate rock—with a high content of trace metals and natural radioactive elements mainly from the U 238 decay series. A disabled phosphate plant located in the vicinity of the river Tejo estuary has produced phosphoric acid...

A thiolated bombesin peptide was conjugated to Au-DTDTPA nanoconstructs to obtain BBN-Au-DTDTPA targeted to the gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPr). Different analytical techniques showed that this conjugate shares similar physico-chemical properties with Au-DTDTPA; HPLC and XPS analyses corroborated the attachment of the bioactive peptide to...

Barks from Prosopis juliflora (acacia) were collected in 12 sites of different geological contexts over the volcanic Fogo Island (Cape Verde). Elemental contents of Ba, Br, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Na, Zn and some rare earth elements (REE)—La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, and Lu, were obtained for biological samples and topsoils by using k 0-standardized and comparat...

Superheated droplet detectors are a promising technique to the measurement of low-intensity neutron fields, as detectors can be rendered insensitive to minimum ionizing radiations. We report on the intrinsic neutron-induced signal of C2ClF5 devices fabricated by our group that originate from neutron- and alpha-emitting impurities in the detector co...

Topsoils developed on different lithologies of all the geological units of the volcanic Brava Island (Cape Verde archipelago) were studied by neutron activation analysis and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Sampling was performed according to the recommendations of the IGCP 259 ("International Geochemical Mapping"). Significant chemical contents variations...

Among the pottery of the Middle Uruk period (or Late Chalcolithic 4) in Syria-Mesopotamia (3800–3450 BCE), it is perhaps the beveled rim bowls (BRBs) which are the most usually interpreted as a “reference pottery” of this period. The BRB is a type of very basic, hand and mass-made bowl characterised by the standardisation of its shape. Despite the...

En este trabajo se analizan muestras de sílex del yacimiento arqueológico “Abrigo de la Quebrada” (Chelva, Valencia) y de los afloramientos geológicos de la misma zona y se comparan con sílex procedentes de yacimientos de “Cova Negra” (Xátiva, Valencia), “Cova de les Cendres” (Moraira, Alicante) y de afloramientos de otras zonas de la región centra...

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of small flakes from the same flint fragment of archeological artefacts from Palaeolithic sites (‘‘Abrigo de la Quebrada’’, ‘‘Cova de les Cendres’’ and ‘‘Cova Negra’’), and geological sources (Chelva, Valencia, and Alcoi, Alicante) from the eastern Spain, was performed. The chemical contents of 27 elements w...

“The Panoramic View of Lisbon” is a unique masterpiece of Portuguese glazed tiles which depicts the city before the earthquake of 1755. Compositional analysis was done by PGAA, INAA and XRD. The first absolute dating by luminescence was done, including a reconstruction of the history of radiation exposure of the pieces. Compositional patterns of th...

The simulation of the neutron background for Phase II of the SIMPLE direct dark matter search experiment is described, including further improvements relatively to previously reported data. Spontaneous fission and decay-induced (\alpha,n) reactions originating in $^{238}$U and $^{232}$Th naturally present in the experiment materials were considered...

We present the uranium contents in the different lithological formations of Santiago. The island is constituted by basaltic-basanite rocks, but phonolitic-trachytic rocks also occur. The highest contents of uranium occur in the phonolitic-trachytics rocks of Ancient Complex and Pico Antónia Formations, and also in other formations of heterogeneous...

Polychrome terracotta high-reliefs representing two narrative cycles and belonging to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon) were studied. The authorship, historical-artistic context and technological aspects of these artworks are still unknown. Considering the apparent similarity of materials and features of both sets, this research sought to...

Phase II of SIMPLE (Superheated Instrument for Massive ParticLe Experiments) searched for astroparticle dark matter using superheated liquid C$_{2}$ClF$_{5}$ droplet detectors. Each droplet generally requires an energy deposition with linear energy transfer (LET) $\gtrsim$ 150 keV/$\mu$m for a liquid-to-gas phase transition, providing an intrinsic...

Iron contents, its compounds and forms in topsoils of the volcanic Fogo island (Cape Verde) were studied by neutron activation analysis, Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The topsoils were collected from all units of the island in diverse geological formations — carbonatite, nephelinites, limburgite, pyroclasts, deposits, pre-historic l...

The distribution of K, Th and U in various types of weathered rocks (granite, schist, dolerite and aplite), belonging to the Beiras uraniferous province in the Fornos de Algodres area of Northern Portugal, was studied. Since the concentration of naturally occurring radionuclides in rocks depends much on the geological context, levels of ionizing ra...

A uranium-rich aplite dyke with spheroidal alteration sited in the Beira uraniferous province, in Fornos de Algodres area (Northern Central Portugal) was studied, focusing on trace element distributions, especially U, in the aplite. A vertical profile, different size fractions, and various concentrically weathered layers of rock, were examined. The...

Geochemistry of major, trace and rare earth elements (REEs) of soils of Santiago island (Cape Verde) has been done in order to characterize soils developed on volcanic rocks and Quaternary sediments, contrib-uting to the establishment of a geochemical atlas of the island. Sampling was made according to the rec-ommendations of the IGCP 259 (''Intern...

The SIMPLE project looks for nuclear recoil events generated by rare dark matter scattering interactions. Nuclear recoils are also produced by more prevalent cosmogenic neutron interactions. While the rock overburden shields against (,n) neutrons to below 10 −8 cm −2 s −1 , it itself contributes via radio-impurities. Additional shielding of these i...

We review the recently completed Phase II measurements of the SIMPLE project, and briefly describe its in-progress Phase III.

The Upper Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) Taveiro and Aveiro Formations belong to the northern sector of the Lusitanian basin (Portuguese western margin). The Taveiro Formation was deposited in alluvial fans, including mud flow beds, lakes and sinuous rivers. The Aveiro Formation was deposited in a flat region with low hydrodynamics channels,...

A calcrete profile developed on the top of a calcareous consolidated dune located in a coastal area of NE Tunisia (semi-arid climate) was studied with the aim to investigate the behavior of the chemical elements (rare earth elements—REE—and other trace and major elements) during the processes associated with calcrete formation, particularly dissolu...

We report the final results of the Phase II SIMPLE measurements, comprising two run stages of 15 superheated droplet detectors each, the second stage including an improved neutron shielding. The analyses includes a refined signal analysis, and revised nucleation efficiency based on reanalysis of previously-reported monochromatic neutron irradiation...