In a recent paper published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Yancheng Zhang and co-authors showed that major accumulations of terrigenous sediments took place at the continental slope off NE Brazil during specific periods of the last deglaciation. The accumulation rate of terrigenous sediments off NE Brazil where no major rivers have their mouths was even higher than the one that occurred further NW, at the slope off the mouth of the Amazon River. This apparent paradox raised the possibility that Amazon sediments where transported towards the SE during specific periods of the last deglaciation. Still, based on neodymium isotopes, the authors showed that the sediments accumulated off NE Brazil rather come from NE Brazil and more specifically from the relatively small drainage basin of the Parnaíba River that was dramatically eroded during those events of the last deglaciation. Read more clicking here.