according to the typical models of Art. 76 UNCLOS. Its marking feature is the
smooth and low-gradient slope into the ocean floor.
The Northern Chain begins East of the Amazon cone and is associated with the
Equatorial Fracture Zone, which formed upon the separation between Northeastern
Brazil and Equatorial Africa. The Chain illustrates ongoing tectonism, in which
continental plates slid side by side in opposite directions, forming marginal chains
relatively parallel to the coast on the fracture zones. The Northern Brazilian Chain
acts as a natural barrier to sediment deposition on the continental margin, thus
rendering the margin rather short in comparison with other parts—an area where
Brazil has less bold claims to outer limits.
100
Southwards, the continental margin of Brazil has once again a broader width. The
Vitória-Trindade Chain, formed by a linear sequence of hills that extend along the
coast of Espírito Santo stands out in this area, linked geologically and
geomorphologically to the bank of Abrolhos. It covers about thirty seamounts and
is 950 km in length. At its far East are the islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz,
around which the frequency of the seamounts increases, which suggests intense
magnetism associated with them
The São Paulo Plateau consists of another enlargement of the Brazilian continental margin, with a formation associated to the rupture of the Gondwana
paleocontinent. Largest marginal plateau of the Brazilian coast, the São Paulo
Plateau interrupts the continental slope, standing between it and the continental
rise, and has sediments that can reach up to 4 km in depth, covering the sedimentary
basins of Campos, Santos and Paraná—precisely where most of the oil production in
Brazil and all the pre-salt reserves are.
To the south of the São Paulo Plateau, the continental margin slides down until
Brazil’s maritime border with Uruguay. The Southern Continental Margin has
characteristics of a margin heavily modified by the magmatism that led to the
Gondwana separation. Within that margin are the Santa Catarina Plateau and the
Rio Grande Cone, which share with the Amazon Cone the characteristic of a smooth
and relatively constant slope, since the continental shelf and into the ocean floor,
without the classic slope and steep divisions.
101 Brazil’s claim towards the Southern
Margin was approved by the CLCS in March 2019.
Thus far, only the executive summaries of the Brazilian submissions have been
made public, as part of the strategy chosen by the Brazilian delegation, pursuant to
Rules 48 and 49 of the CLCS, in order to safeguard sensitive information on the
Brazilian submarine areas from the eyes of third states. As explained in Chap. 3, such
a behavior has raised criticisms from international specialized literature, due to the
act that secrecy prevent other states from assessing the lawfulness of the Brazilian
claims, thus adding to the opacity of the delineation procedure and to cuts of overall
legitimacy.
102 The issue of secrecy has also raised much uproar in the case of the
100 Milani et al. (2000), p. 360.
101 Torres et al. (2008), p. 2.
102 Egede (2006), p. 42. See also Macnab (2004), p. 11.
274
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...
smooth and low-gradient slope into the ocean floor.
The Northern Chain begins East of the Amazon cone and is associated with the
Equatorial Fracture Zone, which formed upon the separation between Northeastern
Brazil and Equatorial Africa. The Chain illustrates ongoing tectonism, in which
continental plates slid side by side in opposite directions, forming marginal chains
relatively parallel to the coast on the fracture zones. The Northern Brazilian Chain
acts as a natural barrier to sediment deposition on the continental margin, thus
rendering the margin rather short in comparison with other parts—an area where
Brazil has less bold claims to outer limits.
100
Southwards, the continental margin of Brazil has once again a broader width. The
Vitória-Trindade Chain, formed by a linear sequence of hills that extend along the
coast of Espírito Santo stands out in this area, linked geologically and
geomorphologically to the bank of Abrolhos. It covers about thirty seamounts and
is 950 km in length. At its far East are the islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz,
around which the frequency of the seamounts increases, which suggests intense
magnetism associated with them
The São Paulo Plateau consists of another enlargement of the Brazilian continental margin, with a formation associated to the rupture of the Gondwana
paleocontinent. Largest marginal plateau of the Brazilian coast, the São Paulo
Plateau interrupts the continental slope, standing between it and the continental
rise, and has sediments that can reach up to 4 km in depth, covering the sedimentary
basins of Campos, Santos and Paraná—precisely where most of the oil production in
Brazil and all the pre-salt reserves are.
To the south of the São Paulo Plateau, the continental margin slides down until
Brazil’s maritime border with Uruguay. The Southern Continental Margin has
characteristics of a margin heavily modified by the magmatism that led to the
Gondwana separation. Within that margin are the Santa Catarina Plateau and the
Rio Grande Cone, which share with the Amazon Cone the characteristic of a smooth
and relatively constant slope, since the continental shelf and into the ocean floor,
without the classic slope and steep divisions.
101 Brazil’s claim towards the Southern
Margin was approved by the CLCS in March 2019.
Thus far, only the executive summaries of the Brazilian submissions have been
made public, as part of the strategy chosen by the Brazilian delegation, pursuant to
Rules 48 and 49 of the CLCS, in order to safeguard sensitive information on the
Brazilian submarine areas from the eyes of third states. As explained in Chap. 3, such
a behavior has raised criticisms from international specialized literature, due to the
act that secrecy prevent other states from assessing the lawfulness of the Brazilian
claims, thus adding to the opacity of the delineation procedure and to cuts of overall
legitimacy.
102 The issue of secrecy has also raised much uproar in the case of the
100 Milani et al. (2000), p. 360.
101 Torres et al. (2008), p. 2.
102 Egede (2006), p. 42. See also Macnab (2004), p. 11.
274
9 The Environmental Dimension of the “Brazilian Blue...