The south Caspian subbasin extends from the foot of the Alborz Mountains to the deepest part of Caspian Sea. The lithological background and tectonic setting of the study area primarily control the deposition of thick sedimentary sequences of the basin, while hydroclimatic processes exert secondary impacts on the sediment distribution pattern. To evaluate past hydroclimatic changes, short sediment cores were retrieved from the continental shelf and upper slope of the south Caspian Sea and were treated for basic sedimentological properties and mineralogy. The results show that the sediments are composed of terrigenous, biogenic, and chemical components. The chemical component has a significant signature in the internal structure of the sedim

The Chabahar Strandplain (CHS) stretches along the Chabahar bay at a width of more than 5 km along the northern coast of the Gulf of Oman and SE Iran; an area that has been subjected to tectonic uplift as a part of the Makran accretionary prism. The CHS comprises of beach ridges, inter-ridge swales, sand dunes, tidal channels and fluvial deposits. We present the first documentation of the spatial distribution and the internal architecture of the CHS based on topographic surveys, sediment percussive coring, trenching and ground penetrating radar (GPR) transects. Radiocarbon dating on marine shells from foreshore deposits of 8 representative beach ridges yielded ages between 4800 and 270 cal. years BP at respective distances of 4800 to

Reliable age dating of coastal sedimentary landforms is crucial for inferring storm frequencies and magnitudes from geological archives. However, in highly energetic coastal settings, radiocarbon dating is often biased by reworking and/or poorly constrained marine reservoir effects. Due to this, most cyclone-driven sediment archives from the semiarid coast of NW Australia – a region frequently affected by tropical cyclones but with a historical record limited to ∼150 a, and therefore strongly in need of long-term data inferred from geological evidence – are affected by chronological inaccuracies. Optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) may overcome these shortcomings by dating the transport of sediment directly. In turn it may

The coastal area extending east of the city of Martigues, between the bays of Bonnieu and that of Chariot, is characterized by an alternation of gently sloping rocky coast and 5?m high cliffs composed of Miocene limestone. The foot of the cliff is marked by a well developed notch and a discontinuous wave-cut platform; at its base, the sea bottom reaches a maximum depth of about 4.5–6?m. The emerged area shows boulders placed up to 10?m inland of the coastline at around 2?m above s.l. and, weighing as much as 35 tonnes. A geomorphological survey was conducted by means of a Terrestrial Laser Scanner to estimate boulder sizes. The particular focus of the proposed study was to estimate the minimum wave height required to detach and transport

Coastal boulder accumulations are documented along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt between Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh at four distinct sites. The spatial distribution and dimensions of 116 medium to large boulders were documented along four representative coastal profiles. Boulders weigh up to 23 metric tons and are located up to 40?m from the shoreline. Geomorphologic features, morphometric properties and the presence of attached marine organisms attest that the boulders are detached and transported from original subtidal or intertidal settings by the impact of unusually large waves. Adapted hydrodynamic models were applied to evaluate the height of the transporting waves. Our result shows that largest boulders could be t

Boulder accumulations occur along a stretch of rocky coast of about 1.5 km near the French Mediterranean city of Martigues. The boulders occur up to 100 m inland from the present shoreline and some contain marine bio-constructions that are proof of residence in a subtidal or intertidal setting. The setting, spatial distribution and morphologic characteristics of these boulders indicate that they were detached from the rocky shore platform and transported landward by high-energy waves. The size, position and distance from the shoreline of 1475 boulders were measured in order to determine their volume and mass, as well as the conditions under which they were transported landward to their present positions. The results were then statistically

Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages were analysed in four short sediment cores collected in the south Basin of the Caspian Sea for assessing environmental changes over the last few millennia.?Two of these cores were dated by radionuclides. The sedimentation rate of one of them was very high, in the order of 20?mm per year. The interpretation of the four sequences is supported by a collection of 27 lagoonal or marine surface sediment samples. A sharp increase in the concentration of the dinocyst occurs after 1967, especially owing to Lingulodinium machaerophorum. Considering nine other cores covering parts or the whole of Holocene, it became clear that this species started to develop in the Caspian Sea only during the last three millennia. By an

Bari, Southern Italy” presents a number of methodological shortcomings that we would like to highlight. The main problem posed by this paper is the use of both the ancient floor of the Basilica’s crypt and groundwater as precise indicators of relative sea-level changes.The first striking point is the very small number of sea-level index points used to construct the sea-level curve. A mere five floor-level points are reported (Table 1), all of which present a series of problems with regards to their accuracy and precision.

The central Guilan coast along the Iranian Caspian coastline is characterized by sandy beaches and the development of spit–lagoon complexes, which are prone to preserve past sea-level fluctuations. The morphology of three spit–lagoon complexes along the central Guilan coast was studied using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and sediment sequences to understand the effects of past sea-level changes on spit–lagoon development. The results showed the prominent role of coastal setting in conditioning the development of spit–lagoon formation in response to sea-level change. When the Caspian Sea experienced a highstand in the Little Ice Age, the coast of central Guilan recorded fluctuations in sedimentation which are reflected, for example,

In this study, the levels of natural and anthropogenic metal contamination (aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn)) in surface sediments of three harbors along the Iranian coast of Gulf of Oman were examined and reported for the first time. Effect of grain size, mineralogy, normalization technique using Fe concentrations, and different sediment quality guidelines were discussed. Data from the harbors were compared with other harbors worldwide. Sediments inside the harbors are characterized by moderate and high levels of pollution by trace metals Cu (12–287?μg/g), Pb (11–1,780?μg/g), Zn (38–547?μg/g), Cr (70–2,370?μg/g)

Evaluating the hazard potential of the Makran subduction zone requires understanding the previous records of the large earthquakes and tsunamis. We address this problem by searching for earthquake and tectonic proxies along the Makran Coast and linking those observations with the available constraints on historical seismicity and the tell-tale characteristics of sea floor morphology. The earthquake of Mw 8.1 of 1945 and the consequent tsunami that originated on the eastern part of the Makran are the only historically known hazardous events in this region. The seismic status of the western part of the subduction zone outside the rupture area of the 1945 earthquake remains an enigma. The near-shore shallow stratigraphy of the c

Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages were analysed in four short sediment cores collected in the south Basin of the Caspian Sea for assessing environmental changes over the last few millennia. Two of these cores were dated by radionuclides. The sedimentation rate of one of them was very high, in the order of 20 mm per year. The interpretation of the four sequences is supported by a collection of 27 lagoonal or marine surface sediment samples. A sharp increase in the concentration of the dinocyst occurs after 1967, especially owing to Lingulodinium machaerophorum. Considering nine other cores covering parts or the whole of Holocene, it became clear that this species started to develop in the Caspian Sea only during the last three millennia. By an