Cement fabrics and optical luminescence ages of beachrock, North
Cyprus: Implications for Holocene sea-level changes
Muhammed Zeynel Ozturk
a
,*
, Ahmet Evren Erginal
b
, Na
fiye Güneç Kiyak
c
,
Tugba Ozturk
c
aNigde University, Department of Geography, TR-51240, Nigde, Turkey bArdahan University, Department of Geography, TR-75000, Ardahan, Turkey cIsik University, Department of Physics, TR-34980, Istanbul, Turkey
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Available online 8 April 2015 Keywords:
Beachrock Sea level change Holocene Cyprus
a b s t r a c t
CaCO3-cemented beachrocks are widely found along the northern coast of Cyprus. In this study, we aim to discuss the cementation history of beachrocks at ten particular sites within the context of Holocene sea-level changes. Cement fabrics, petrographic and geochemical characteristics, and optically-stimulated luminescence ages of buried quartz grains were studied. The seaward-inclined (~5e10)
parallel-stratified beds are composed mostly of sandstone alternating with conglomerate. Ooids, benthic and planktic foraminifera, bioclasts of red algae, echinoid spines and gastropods make up a significant proportion of the cemented beds. With CaCO3content ranging between 37% and 65%, poorly-sorted grains are bonded by four distinct cements: circumgranular micritic coatings, sparry calcite infillings, porefills, and meniscus bridges. This consecutive nature of cementation is typical of a marine phreatic and meteoric vadose environment when the sea level was lower than present but had a tendency to increase during middle to late Holocene. OSL ages ranging from 5.4 ka to 0.38 ka indicate that the deposition and ensuing cementation of the quartz grains occurred during two main stages; younger beds dated between 2.3 ka and 0.38 ka and older beds from 2.3 ka to 5.4 ka. A period devoid of beachrock formation was attested between 3.5 ka and 2.3 ka.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
As a kind of carbonate-cemented sandstone or coastal
conglomerate typical of intertidal cementation, beachrock has
extensively been considered a key indicator in studies dealing with
both sea-level changes and neotectonic deformations in various
coastal environments (
Fouache et al., 2005; Kelletat, 2006;
Desruelles et al., 2009; Thomas, 2009; Mourtzas, 2012; Mourtzas
and Kolaiti, 2013; Stattegger et al., 2013; Mourtzas et al., 2014;
Psomiadis et al., 2014; Mauz et al., 2015
). To the contrary of
com-mon belief until the 1960's stressing that the formation of
beach-rock occurred particularly in tropical and subtropical environments
(
Ginsburg, 1953; Russell, 1959
), several authors later attested to its
existence in temperate (
Zenkovitch, 1967; Rey et al., 2004
) and cold
climate zones (
Binkley et al., 1980; Kneale and Viles, 2000
). The
Mediterranean (
Friedman and Gavish, 1971; Alexandersson, 1972;
Bernier and Dalongeville, 1988; Holail and Rashed, 1992
) and
Caribbean coasts (
Ginsburg, 1953; Moore, 1973; Hanor, 1978; Beier,
1985
), as well as tropical and subtropical coasts of the Atlantic
Ocean, are among the areas where beachrocks are found.
The common distribution of beachrock beds was pinpointed
along various sections of the micro-tidal coast of the Mediterranean
by
Vousdoukas et al. (2007)
. A vast number of outcrops have been
reported on the Eastern Mediterranean coast from the 19th century
onwards (
Beaufort, 1818; Spratt and Forbes, 1847; Taillefer, 1964;
Goudie, 1966; Schattner, 1967; Lipkin and Safriel, 1971; Bener,
1974; El-Sayed, 1988a,b; Kampouroglou, 1989; Mourtzas, 1990;
Holail and Rashed, 1992; Avs¸arcan, 1997; Sanlaville et al., 1997;
Neumeier, 1998; Fouache et al., 2005; George et al., 2006; Kelletat,
2006; Morhange et al., 2006; Vousdoukas et al., 2007, 2009; Ertek
et al., 2008; Desruelles et al., 2009; Çiner et al., 2009; Erginal et al.,
2010; Friedman, 2011
). Promoting the precipitation of connective
calcium carbonate and the ensuing amalgamation of beach
mate-rials, the arid climate of the island throughout the year plays an
important role in the formation of beachrocks in Northern Cyprus.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address:[email protected](M.Z. Ozturk).
Contents lists available at
ScienceDirect
Quaternary International
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e :
w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m/ l o ca t e / q u a i n t
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.03.024
Ertek et al. (2008)
reported the existence of beachrocks at
five
different sites and examined the petrographic composition of the
cemented beds. However, the cementation history and age of the
beachrocks have not been considered. In this study, we present
results concerning the composition, cement characteristics,
diage-netic history and OSL ages of beachrocks ascertained at 10 different
sections of the northern coast of Cyprus within the context of
Ho-locene sea-level changes (
Fig. 1
).
2. Study area
The island of Cyprus rises in the central part of the Eastern
Mediterranean basin (
Fig. 1
a) at a convergent boundary between
the Arabian, African and Eurasian plates (
Gülen et al., 1987; Poole
and
Robertson,
1998;
Robertson
and
Mountrakis,
2006;
Wdowinski et al., 2006; Waters et al., 2010
). Located at
34.55
e35.69
N and 32.27
e34.58
E, the island is 70 km from the
coast of southern Anatolia. Its climate is typically characterized by
arid and semi-arid conditions according to the Thorthwaite water
balance (
Türkes¸ and Sar
ıs¸, 2007
). The average temperature is above
0
C all year round. With mean values ranging between 18
C and
20
C, maximum summer temperatures may reach 45
C, resulting
in an increase in evaporation and thereby precipitation of
carbonates from seawater. The tidal range is about 10 cm according
to the principal (M2) lunar tide around the island (
AVISO, 2013
).
The average sea-level amplitude is 14.9 cm all year around. The
mean long-term maximum and minimum sea-level amplitude is
36.5 cm in the Eastern Mediterranean (
€Oztürk, 2011
).
3. Methods
3.1. Sampling and analyses
A coastal zone about 320 km long was surveyed during
field
studies to map the distribution of beachrock beds and to collect
samples for analysis and dating. Changes in bedding and
compo-sition from bottom to top together with the length, width and
thickness of slabs and angle of dip were measured. Sampling sites
shown in
Fig. 1
b were recorded using a global positioning system
receiver (GPS; Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx). Out of 23 possible sites, a
total of 21 beachrock samples from ten selected localities were
collected for analysis and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)
dating (
Fig. 2
). Mineral content and textural characteristics of the
beachrocks were described based on petrographic thin sections.
Closer examination of the cemented components was performed
using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-ZEISS EVO 50 EP) in
Fig. 1. (a) Generalized tectonic map of Eastern Mediterranean (Compiled fromS¸eng€or et al., 1985; Barka and Reilinger, 1997; Bozkurt, 2001; Robertson and Mountrakis, 2006), (b) distribution of 23 beachrock locations and 10 selected sampling sites on North Cyprus coast.
order to shed light on the cement fabrics on and around the bonded
grains. To specify elemental composition of the connective
car-bonates of the beachrocks, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
(FTIR-Perkin Elmer FTIR Spectrum one) analyses were also carried
out. X-ray diffractometry (XRD-Philips X-pert Pro) analyses were
used to designate mineral composition of the connective carbonate
cement polymorphs.
3.2. OSL analyses
Luminescence analyses were conducted at the Luminescence
Research and Archeometry Laboratory of Isik University, Turkey.
The outer surface of the beachrock samples was removed to
elim-inate light-subjected portions. The inner portion was crushed and
powdered in a mortar and grains of 90
e180
m
m were separated.
Then the grains were treated with 10% HCl and 10% H
2O
2for the
removal of carbonates and organics, respectively. Following this,
the quartz grains were etched with HF so that parts affected by
alpha radiation were removed prior to treatment with HCL. All
luminescence measurements were performed with an automated
Risø TL/OSL reader, model TL/OSL-DA-15, equipped with an internal
90
Sr/
90Y beta source (~0.1 Gy s
1), blue light emitting diodes (LEDs)
(470 nm, ~40 mW cm
2) and IR LEDs (880 nm, ~135 mW cm
2).
Luminescence signals were detected using an EMI 9635QA
photo-multiplier tube
fitted with 7.5 mm-thickness Hoya U-340 filters
(
Bøtter-Jensen, 1997
). Possible feldspar contamination of the quartz
was tested by the absence of luminescence signal during infrared
stimulation.
3.2.1. OSL paleodose (D
e) estimate
Paleodose (or equivalent dose) D
eaccumulated during the burial
time
of
samples
was
estimated
using
the
single-aliquot
regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol presented by
Murray and Wintle
(2000)
, based on a comparison of the natural OSL signal of the
sample with regenerative OSL signals of the same sample produced
by known laboratory doses. In the
first cycle, a natural aliquot was
preheated at 260
C for 10 s and then recorded under blue light
stimulation at 125
C for 40 s to obtain the natural OSL signal. For
the next three cycles, following the same treatment sequence as the
first cycle, three regeneration doses were applied to the same
aliquot to obtain regenerated OSL signals. Sensitivity change
be-tween the cycles was monitored and corrected by the OSL signal.
Quartz from these beachrock samples was bright in luminescence
and sensitivity changes were corrected successfully using the
response to a test dose. Reliability of measurement was checked by
means of dose recovery tests.
3.2.2. Dose rate
The dose rate of the burial environment, essential for age
esti-mation, was obtained by elemental analysis of the beachrock
samples. The annual dose of the radiation environment arises
mainly from gamma and beta contributions plus cosmic radiation.
The alpha contribution to the dose rate was eliminated due to
etching of the grains with HF treatment. Gamma and beta
contri-butions to the dose rate were obtained from concentrations of
major radioactive isotopes of the uranium and thorium series and
of potassium obtained by ICP-ES/ICP-MS analysis (
Olley et al., 1996
).
The cosmic ray contribution to the dose rate was calculated using
the formula given by
Prescott and Hutton (1988)
. The moisture
content and carbonate fraction affecting dose rate evaluation were
also taken into account. Burial dose rates, equivalent dose and OSL
ages are presented in
Table 1
, where (n) indicates the number of
aliquots evaluated. The results accorded well with the expected
ages.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Morphology and composition
The studied beds are exposed at ten different sites on the
northern coast of the Girne (Kyrenia) Mountain Range and the
Karpaz (Carpasus) Peninsula. On average, beds are composed of
alternating layers of tightly-cemented sandstone and conglomerate
with varying thickness and composition. In many sites, a thin
film
of marine algae colonizes the surface of beds (
Fig. 3
a). Dendropoma
petraeum (Monterosato, 1884), a reef-building vermetid gastropod
endemic to the Mediterranean (
Usvyatsov and Galil, 2012
), forms
vertical bioconstructive rims or aggregations a few cm thick along
the outer edge of beachrocks in some instances (
Fig. 3
b).
Running parallel to the present coastline, beds have lengths
between 20 m and 1.6 km (
Table 2
). When the submerged beds
followed down to
1 m at their most seaward extent are
incor-porated with exposed layers at their landward edges, the width of
the cemented zone may reach 35 m (
Fig. 3
c). The maximum and
minimum visible thicknesses of exposed slabs, with an average
seaward inclination of 5
, are 80 cm and 20 cm, respectively
(
Table 2
,
Fig 3
d). Due to severe erosion by storm waves, relatively
thin and fragile beachrocks formed of
fine grains are fragmentized
on a vast scale and large angular blocks disintegrated along joints
may form clumps or stacks at the landward edge of beds (
Fig 3
e),
enhancing the slope of the shore at the back beach.
Albeit the prevalence of lithic sandstone in petrographic
composition based on
Folk's (1974)
classi
fication, gravels and
blocks up to 20 cm in size, suggestive of higher energy periods,
form beach conglomerates alternating with sandstone beds.
Comprising a matrix-supported texture with angular or
sub-angular blocks made of marble and sandstone, conglomerates
may form the uppermost surface of beds where the
finer-grained
parts are eroded (
Fig. 3
f) or form thin layers of sandy gravels
smaller than 5 cm in size (
Fig. 3
g). Exceptionally, beachrocks
developed at one particular site directly onto wave-cut platforms
(
Fig. 3
h). Thickness of beds varies from less than 30 cm up to 1.3 m,
as previously reported by
Ertek et al. (2008)
.
Having similar petrographic composition to that of the adjacent
beach, the studied beachrocks comprise a total amount of CaCO
3ranging between 37% and 65% (
Fig. 4
a) according to calcimetric
measurements. Based on FTIR spectrums suggestive of chemical
structures in all samples (
Fig. 4
b), the connective carbonate
poly-morph is calcite, as con
firmed by XRD, propounding the lack of
aragonite.
SEM and thin section images display the consecutive nature of
the carbonate precipitates and possess implications for the
sea-level history during time of deposition and following
cementa-tion of beachrock components. Having a high void ratio, the
sam-ples are comprised exclusively of poorly-sorted quartz grains
(
Fig. 5
a) on which early cement forms start with circumgranular
micritic rims. These early precipitates composed of micritic calcites
Table 1
Measured parameters obtained from beachrocks at 10 sampled locations.
Locality Sample no. OSL age (ka) Paleodose (Gy) n Dose rate (Gy/ka) CaCO3
(%) U (ppm) T (ppm) K (%) 1 1-1 2.022± 0.564 1.781± 0.494 9 0.881± 0.027 57 <0.5 <0.5 0.05 1-2 4.983± 0.990 2.145± 0.402 8 0.430± 0.028 53 0.6 <0.5 0.05 1-3 2.015± 0.777 0.878± 0.333 7 0.436± 0.029 47 0.6 <0.5 0.05 2 2-1 2.329± 0.181 2.209± 0.158 14 0.948± 0.000 55 0.9 0.6 0.06 2-2 4.372± 0.599 2.001± 0.245 11 0.458± 0.028 52 0.9 0.6 0.05 6 6-1 0.496± 0.117 0.493± 0.116 7 0.994± 0.024 59 0.9 0.6 0.06 6-2 0.906± 0.200 0.932± 0.204 8 1.029± 0.028 56 1.1 0.6 0.06 6-3 0.876± 0.296 0.866± 0.292 9 0.988± 0.028 55 0.8 0.6 0.05 8 8-1 0.584± 0.125 0.263± 0.054 9 0.450± 0.028 59 0.7 <0.5 0.05 8-2 0.387± 0.049 0.359± 0.044 10 0.926± 0.028 60 0.5 <0.5 0.06 10 10-1 3.814± 0.642 1.593± 0.248 8 0.418± 0.027 65 0.5 0.5 0.07 10-2 3.561± 0.556 1.715± 0.250 10 0.482± 0.027 65 1 <0.5 0.07 10-3 0.970± 0.252 0.931± 0.240 9 0.960± 0.00 61 0.7 0.7 0.08 12 12-1 1.390± 0.250 1.400± 0.250 9 1.007± 0.025 51 0.8 <0.5 0.05 12-2 1.906± 0.206 1.898± 0.198 9 0.996± 0.029 54 0.9 <0.5 0.04 16 16-1 3.550± 0.313 3.913± 0.328 9 1.102± 0.029 52 1.5 <0.5 0.06 16-2 5.407± 0.425 3.130± 0.186 8 0.579± 0.030 49 1.3 <0.5 0.05 20 20-1 1.518± 0.463 1.633± 0.496 6 1.076± 0.030 44 1.2 0.6 0.06 21 21-1 4.498± 0.434 2.445± 0.197 12 0.544± 0.029 51 1.1 1.2 0.07 22 22-1 1.672± 0.242 1.735± 0.246 9 1.0379± 0.00 37 0.9 0.8 0.07 22-2 2.327± 0.237 1.463± 0.131 10 0.629± 0.030 44 1.7 0.7 0.06 Table 2
Morphometric characteristics of 23 beachrock beds in study area. (Loc: locality, width: maximum width, dip: maximum angle of dip, height: maximum height of sampled beds above mean sea-level, layers: number of layers. Gray indicates sampling sites).
Loc. Length (m) Width (m) Dip () Height (cm) Layers Loc. Length (m) Width (m) Dip () Height (cm) Layers
1 1600 7 10e12 50 3 13 380 6 9e10 50 1
2 610 5 5e7 38 2 14 60 7 8e9 40 1
3 110 2 4e7 20 1 15 290 2e3 4e5 60 1
4 480 6 4e5 40 1 16 310 14 8e9 70 4
5 480 5 3e4 40 2 17 150 27 12e13 60 8
6 540 12 13 70 5 18 140 11 6-7 40 2
7 20 5 14e15 30 1 19 830 4e5 5e6 40 1
8 150 17 10 50 3 20 610 3e4 7 60 1
9 170 7 9e10 40 1 21 210 35 10e12 80 2
10 230 16 11 70 4 22 180 14 10e12 50 6
11 80 5 5e6 60 1 23 410 1e2 12 30 1
12 120 9 6-7 60 3
smaller than 5
m
m comprise the approximately 20
m
m-thick
coat-ings or rims on the peripheral zones of the grains (
Fig. 5
b
ed),
fol-lowed by meniscus bridges and pore
fills (
Fig. 5
e
eg), occluding
intergranular porosity. Along with the cement fabrics, ooids,
planktic foraminifera Globigerina sp., sparry calcite in
fillings,
bio-clasts of red algae, echinoid spines, benthic foraminifera and
gastropods were also found as other components embedded within
the analyzed samples (
Fig. 5
h
ep). The aforementioned cement
fabrics are typical of meteoric vadose, marine phreatic and
mete-oric phreatic environments (
Vieira and De Ros, 2006
;
Scof
fin and
Stoddart, 1983; Spurgeon et al., 2003; Rey et al., 2004; Stoddart
and Cann, 1965; Adams and MacKenzie, 1998
). It can be
Fig. 3. (a) Algae colonies on uppermost surface of beachrock beds (site 10), (b) Dendropoma petraeum on outer edges of beachrock (site 10), (c, d) closer views of well-exposed beds (sites 17 and 6, respectively), (e) view of disintegrated beachrock and debris deposits at backshore (site 2), (f, g) closer views of blocks and coarse gravels (sites 11 and 2, respectively), (h) beachrock formation resting directly on wave-cut platform (site 2). SeeFig. 1b for locations of sampled beds.
suggested that the
first generation of cements were of marine
phreatic origin, followed by meteoric vadose cements, implying the
combined effects of intertidal and supratidal conditions, as
observed elsewhere (
Kelletat, 2006; Erginal et al., 2010, 2013;
Erginal, 2012; Ertek, 2015
).
4.2. OSL ages and implications for sea-level changes
OSL ages of the beachrock samples vary between 0.387
± 19 ka
and 5.407
± 0.425 ka, attesting to a wide age span (
Fig. 6
,
Table 1
).
Six samples (
Table 1
), especially those collected from sampling sites
Fig. 4. (a) CaCO3rates, and (b) FTIR spectra obtained from beachrock cements.
Fig. 5. Thin section and SEM images of beachrocks; (a) view of grain-supported moderately-sorted beachrock, (bed) micritic envelopes, (eeg) meniscus bridges and pore fills, (h) ooid surrounded by subangular grains, (i, j) micrographs of planktic foraminifera, (k, l) sparry calcite infillings, (m) bioclastic red algae, (n) spine of echinoid, (B) benthic fora-minifera, (p) gastropoda. Locations and sample numbers (as perTable 1): (a) 8.1, (b) 10.3, (c) 2.1, (d) 12.2, (e, m,B) 1.1, (f) 6.3, (g, p) 22.2, (h) 6.2, (i, j, k) 10.1, (l) 12.2, (n) 8.2. SeeFig. 2
for position of sampled parts of beds.
6 and 8 on both sides of the Carpasus Peninsula, yielded younger
ages of deposition, within the last millennia. Eight samples
(
Table 1
), on the other hand, were found to be older, i.e. deposited
between ca. 1.3 ka and 2.3 ka. The rest of the samples were dated to
between ca. 3.5 and 5.4 ka.
These ages indicate that the deposition of cemented quartz
grains within the samples took place during late Holocene. The
North Cyprus beachrocks were formed in two epochs when the
sea-level was rising. On the other hand, the period between 2.3 ka and
3.5 ka is characterized by absence of beachrock formation (
Fig. 6
).
This period corresponds to the Iron Age Cold Period (
Van Geel et al.,
1996, 1998
) when the Mediterranean sea-level was lower (
Issar,
2003
) especially at 2.8 ka BP (
Neuman, 1985
,
Fig. 6
). In this
respect, a positive correlation is seen between sea-level and
tem-perature, especially when the
d
13C pro
file of a stalagmite from
Kocain Cave (
G€oktürk, 2011
) is taken into consideration. Based on
the assumption that there is a positive relationship between
tem-perature and carbonate precipitation (
Milliman, 1974; Bathurst,
1975; Vousdoukas et al., 2007
), formation of beachrock is
pro-moted under conditions of higher temperatures (
Ginsburg, 1953;
Russell and McIntire, 1965; Donaldson and Ricketts, 1979; Beier,
1985; Calvet et al., 2003; Bezerra et al., 2005; Vieira and De Ros,
2006; Friedman, 2011
), explaining the absence of beachrocks
dur-ing the cold stage.
Regarding sea-level changes during the Holocene, it can be
supposed that during the last 2500 years the sea-level was between
0 m and
1 m lower than today but had a tendency to rise, as
con
firmed by a vast number of records throughout the
Mediterra-nean. With regard to beachrock cementation, the last two millennia
were characterized by a relatively stable sea-level, as con
firmed by
the ancient
fish-tanks found at Lapithos on the central part of the
North Cyprus coast (
Nicolaou, 1976
). On the other hand, ages
spanning from 5.5 ka to 2.3 ka obtained from seven samples match
lower sea-level conditions, as demonstrated by several sea-level
curves. Considering the seaward extent of the submerged beds
(down to
2 m) in conjunction with exposed landward edges as
well as beds up to a thickness of 1.2 m, solely intertidal cementation
of these beachrocks appears not to be a plausible explanation or
reason. As con
firmed by the sequential cement generations typical
of upper intertidal to meteoric environments, the sea-level during
that time interval was probably lower, by about
1.5 m.
The lower sea-level is also con
firmed by the exclusive existence
of calcite as the amalgamating carbonate polymorph, which has
been referred to as being consequent to input by streams and
un-derground waters (
Stoddart and Cann, 1965
) or carbonate-rich
meteoric waters (
Friedman, 1964
;
Folk, 1974; Scof
fin and
Stoddart, 1983; Spurgeon et al., 2003; Rey et al., 2004
) as well as
the mixing of marine and meteoric waters (
Schmalz, 1971; Moore,
1973
) where an increase in pH leads to the precipitation of
dis-solved carbonates more easily (
Rey et al., 2004
). Another argument
in favor of freshwater input to the cemented beaches is the
abun-dance of microfossils, which were presumably transported from
the adjacent geological formations of the Girne Mountains
(
Hakyemez et al., 2002; Hakyemez, 2004
).
5. Conclusions
This study is the
first attempt to discuss the cementation history
and OSL age of beachrocks on the northern Cyprus coast.
Con-taining poorly-rounded blocks, beach gravels and sands derived
from the adjacent terrain, beachrocks have pure calcite as the
connective carbonate, precipitated likely as result of the combined
effects of mixed marine and underground waters, or vadose in
fil-tration of carbonates together with other land-based microfossils
found in copious numbers. OSL ages spanning a long period of time,
from 5.4 ka to 0.38 ka, suggest that deposition of the cemented
quartz grains took place in two main eras; the younger between
2.3 ka and 0.38 ka and the older between 2.3 ka and 5.4 ka, with the
exception of a period void of beachrock formation between 2.3 ka
and 3.5 ka. Many of the beds were deposited and then cemented
during Late Holocene when the sea-level was lower by up to
1 m
but had a tendency to increase. The older generations of beachrock
were found to belong to a period between 5.5 ka and 2.3 ka when
the sea-level was lower, down to
1.5 m, allowing, in turn, input of
freshwater carbonates that amalgamated with loose beach
mate-rials which had a thickness in excess of the tidal range. We suggest
on the basis of these results that supratidal cementation remains an
important part of beachrock cementation and that sequential
cementation patterns are a key gauge in presuming beachrocks as a
sea-level change indicator.
Acknowledgments
AEE wishes to thank the Turkish Academy of Sciences for their
support in the framework of the Distinguished Young Scientist
Award Program (TÜBA-GEB_IP). We also thank Graham H. Lee for
checking the English of the earlier version of the paper.
References
Adams, A.E., MacKenzie, W.S., 1998. A Color Atlas of Carbonate Sediments and Rocks under the Microscope. Manson Publishing, London.
Alexandersson, T., 1972. Mediterranean beachrock cementation: Marine precipita-tion of Mg-calcite. In: Stanley, D.J. (Ed.), The Mediterranean Sea. Stroudsburg, pp. 203e223.
AVISO - http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/en/applications/ocean/tides/index.html, retrieved 26.02.2013.
Avs¸arcan, B., 1997. Yalıtas¸ı olus¸umu ile ilgili kuramlar ve Türkiye kıyılarındaki yalıtas¸larının bazı €ozellikleri. _I.Ü. Cografya Dergisi 5, 259e282 (in Turkish with English abstract).
Barka, A., Reilinger, R., 1997. Active tectonics of the Eastern Mediterranean region: deduced form GPS, neotectonic and seismic data. Annali Di Geofisica XL 3, 587e610.
Bathurst, R.G.C., 1975. Carbonate Sediments and Their Diagenesis. Developments in Sedimentology 12. Elsevier.
Beaufort, F., 1818. Karamania or a Brief Description of the South Coast of Asia Minor and of the Remains of Antiquity. R. Hunter, London.
Beier, J.A., 1985. Diagenesis of Quaternary Bahamian beachrock: petrographic and isotopic evidence. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55, 755e761.
Bener, M., 1974. Antalya-gazipas¸a Kıyı Kesiminde Yalıtas¸ı Olus¸umu. No, 1758. (in Turkish). _Istanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınları.
Bernier, P., Dalongeville, R., 1988. Incidence de l'activite biologique sur la cimen-tation des sediments littoraux actuels. L'example des îles de Delos et de Rhenee (Cyclades, Greece). Comptes Rendus de Academie des Science 307, 1901e1907.
Bezerra, F.H.R., Amaral, R.F., Lima-Filho, F.P., Ferreira, A.V., Sena, E.S., Diniz, R.F., 2005. Beachrock fracturing in Brazil. Journal of Coastal Research 42, 19e332.
Binkley, K.L., Wilkinson, B.H., Owen, R.M., 1980. Vadose beachrock cementation along a Southeastern Michigan marl lake. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 50, 953e962.
Bøtter-Jensen, L., 1997. Luminescence techniques: instrumentation and methods. Radiation Measurements 17, 749e768.
Bozkurt, E., 2001. Neotectonics of Turkeye a synthesis. Geodinamica Acta 14, 3e30.
Brückner, H., Kelterbaum, D., Marunchak, O., Porotov, A., V€ott, A., 2010. The Holo-cene sea level story since 7500 BP - lessons from the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black and the Azov Seas. Quaternary International 225, 160e179.
Calvet, F., Cabrera, M.C., Carracedo, J.C., Mangas, J., Perez-Torrado, F.J., Recio, C., Trave, A., 2003. Beachrocks from the island of La Palma (Canary islands, Spain). Marine Geology 197, 75e93.
Çiner, A., Desruelles, S., Fouache, E., Kos¸un, E., Dalongeville, R., 2009. Türkiye'nin Akdeniz sahillerindeki yalıtas¸larının Holosen deniz düzeyi oynamaları ve tek-tonizma açısından €onemi. Türkiye Jeoloji Bülteni 52 (3), 257e269 (in Turkish with English abstract).
Desruelles, S., Fouache, E., Ciner, A., Dalongeville, R., Pavlopoulos, K., Kosun, E., Coquinot, Y., Potdevin, J., 2009. Beachrocks and sea level changes since Middle Holocene: comparison between the insular group of MykonoseDeloseRhenia (Cyclades, Greece) and the southern coast of Turkey. Global and Planetary Change 66, 19e33.
Donaldson, J.A., Ricketts, B.D., 1979. Beachrock in Proterozoıc dolostone of the Belcher islands, Northwest Territories, Canada. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 49 (4), 1287e1294.
El-Sayed, M., 1988a. Beachrock cementation in Alexandria, Egypt. Marine Geology 80 (1e2), 29e35.
El-Sayed, M., 1988b. Progressive cementation in Pleistocene carbonate sediments along the coastal area of Alexandria, Egypt. Journal of Coastal Research 4 (2), 289e299.
Erginal, A.E., 2012. Beachrock as evidence of sea-level lowstand during the Classical period, Parion antique city, Marmara Sea, Turkey. Geodinamica Acta 25, 96e103.
Erginal, A.E., Kiyak, N.G., €Oztürk, B., 2010. Investigation of beachrock using micro-analyses and OSL dating: a case study from Bozcaada Island, Turkey. Journal of Coastal Research 26 (2), 350e358.
Erginal, A.E., Kiyak, N.G., Ekinci, Y.L., Demirci, A., Ertek, A., Canel, T., 2013. Age, composition and paleoenvironmental significance of a late Pleistocene eolianite from the western Black Sea coast of Turkey. Quaternary International 296, 168e175.
Ertek, T.A., Erginal, A.E., Bozcu, M., Türker, G., 2008. The formation of beachrock on the North Cyprus coast. Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 14, 117e128.
Ertek, T.A., Kılıç, E., Erginal, A.E., Ekinci, Y.L., Demirci, A., 2015. Preliminary assess-ment of submerged beachrock and uplifted near-shore deposit, Hasır Island, Marmara Archipelago, Turkey. Journal of Coastal Research 31 (2), 428e433.
Folk, R.L., 1974. Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks. Hemphill Publishing, Austin, Texas.
Fouache, E., Desruelles, S., Pavlopoulos, K., Dalongeville, R., Coquinot, Y., Peulvast, J., Potdevin, J., 2005. Using beachrocks as sea level indicators in the insular group of Mykonos, Delos and Rhenia (Cyclades, Greece). Zeitschriftfür Geo-morphologie 137, 37e43.
Friedman, G.M., 1964. Early diagenesis and lithification in carbonate sediments. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 34, 777e813.
Friedman, G.M., 2011. Beachrocks record Holocene events, including natural di-sasters. Carbonates Evaporites 26, 97e109.
Friedman, G.M., Gavish, E., 1971. Mediterranean and Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) beachrocks. In: Bricker, O.P. (Ed.), Carbonate Cements. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, pp. 13e16.
George, A., Serafim, P., George, G., George, L., 2006. A morphological study of a reef with beachrock characteristics in association with the recent evolution of the Ammoudara Beach Zone (Heraklion, Crete). Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece 39 (3), 146e155.
Ginsburg, R.N., 1953. Beach rock in South Florida. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 23, 85e92.
G€oktürk, O.M., 2011. Climate in the Eastern Mediterranean through the Holocene Inferred from Turkish Stalagmites (PhD thesis). University of Bern.
Goudie, A., 1966. A preliminary examination of the Beach Conglomerates of Arsuz, South Turkey. Geographical Articles 6, 6e9.
Gülen, L., Barka, A., Tokg€oz, M.N., 1987. Kıtaların çarpıs¸ması ve ilgili kompleks deformasyon: Maras¸ Üçlü Eklemi ve çevre yapıları. Yerbilimleri 14, 319e336 (in Turkish).
Hakyemez, A., 2004. Kuzey Kıbrıs Oligosen-Pliyosen Istiflerinin Planktonik Fora-minifera Biyostratigrafisi. Ankara Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü. Yayınlanmamıs¸ Doktora Tezi. (in Turkish).
Hakyemez, H.Y., Turcan, N., S€onmez, _I., 2002. Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti’nin Jeolojisi. Maden Teknik Arama Genel Müdürlügü. Jeoloji Etütleri Dairesi, Ankara (in Turkish).
Hanor, J.S., 1978. Precipitation of beachrock cements: mixing of marine and mete-oric waters vs. CO2-degassing. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48, 489e501.
Holail, H.M., Rashed, M.A., 1992. Stable isotopic composition of carbonate-cemented recent beachrock along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea coasts of Egypt. Marine Geology 106, 141e148.
Issar, A.S., 2003. Climate Changes during the Holocene and Their Impact on Hy-drological Systems. Cambridge University Press.
Kampouroglou, E., 1989. Eretria: Palaeogeographical and Geomorphological Evo-lution during the Holocene (PhD thesis). Department of Geology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens (in Greek).
Kayan, _I., 1997. Bronze Age regression and change of sedimentation on the Aegean Coastal plains of Anatolia (Turkey). In: Dalfes, H.N., Kukla, G., Weiss, H. (Eds.), Third Millennium BC Climate Change and Old World Collapse. NATO ASI Series, pp. 431e450.
Kelletat, D., 2005. A Holocene sea level curve for the eastern Mediterranean from multiple indicators. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement 137, 1e9.
Kelletat, D., 2006. Beachrock as a sea-level indicator? remarks from a geomor-phological point of view. Journal of Coastal Research 22 (6), 1555e1564.
Kneale, D., Viles, H., 2000. Beach cement: incipient CaCO3-cemented beachrock development in the upper intertidal zone, North Uist, Scotland. Sedimentary Geology 132, 165e170.
Lipkin, Y., Safriel, U., 1971. Zonation on rocky shores at Mikhmoret (Mediterranean, Israel). Journal of Ecology 59 (1), 1e30.
Mauz, B., Vacchi, M., Green, A., Hoffmann, G., Cooper, A., 2015. Beachrock: a tool for reconstructing relative sea level in the far-field. Marine Geology. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2015.01.009.
Milliman, J.D., 1974. Marine carbonates. Springer.
Moore, C.H., 1973. Intertidal carbonate cementation in Grand Cayman, West Indies. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 43, 591e602.
Morhange, C., Pirazzoli, P.A., Marriner, N., Montaggioni, L.F., Nammour, T., 2006. Late Holocene relative sea-level changes in Lebanon, Eastern Mediterranean. Marine Geology 230, 99e114.
Mourtzas, N.D., 1990. Tectonic Movements of the Coasts of Eastern Crete during the Quaternary (PhD thesis). National Technical University of Athens, Athens (in Greek).
Mourtzas, N.D., 2012. A palaeogeographic reconstruction of the seafront of the ancient city of Delos in relation to Upper Holocene sea level changes in the central Cyclades. Quaternary International 250, 3e18.
Mourtzas, N.D., Kolaiti, E., 2013. Historical coastal evolution of the ancient harbor of Aegina in relation to the Upper Holocene relative sea level changes in the Saronic Gulf, Greece. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 392, 411e425.
Mourtzas, N.D., Kissas, C., Kolaiti, E., 2014. Archaeological and geomorphological indicators of the historical sea level changes and the related palaeogeographical reconstruction of the ancient foreharbor of Lechaion, East Corinth Gulf (Greece). Quaternary International 332, 151e171.
Müllenhoff, M., 2005. Geoarchaologische, sedimentologische und morphodynami-sche Untersuchungen im Mundungsgebiet des Büyük Menderes (Maander), Westturkei. In: Marburger Geographische Schriften, vol. 141. Marburger Geo-graph, Marburg/Lahn.
Murray, A.S., Wintle, A.G., 2000. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, 57e73.
Neuman, J., 1985. Climatic change as a topic in the classical Greek and Roman Lit-urature. Climatic Change 7, 441e454.
Neumeier, U., 1998. The Role of Microbial Activity in Early Cementation of Beach-rocks (Intertidal Sediments) (PhD thesis). University of Geneva. Terre et Envi-ronment 12.
Nicolaou, K., 1976. Ancientfish-tanks at Lapithos, Cyprus. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 5 (2), 133e136.
Olley, J.M., Murray, A.S., Roberts, R.G., 1996. The effects of disequilibria in the ura-nium and thorium decay chains on burial dose rates influvial sediments. Quaternary Geochronology 15, 751e760.
€Oztürk, M.Z., 2011. Sea level changes according to data of tide gauge station and its relationship with elements of climate in eastern Mediterranean: 1972-2009. International Journal of Human Sciences 8 (2), 628e642 (in Turkish with En-glish abstract).
Poole, A.J., Robertson, A.H.F., 1998. Pleistocene fanglomerate deposition related to uplift of the Troodos Ophiolite, Cyprus. In: Robertson, A.H.F., Emeis, K.C., Richter, C., Camerlenghi, A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, vol. 160, pp. 545e566.
Prescott, J.R., Hutton, J.T., 1988. Cosmic ray and gamma ray dosimetry for TL and ESR. Nuclear Tracks Radiation Measurements 14, 223e227.
Psomiadis, D., Albanakis, K., Zisi, N., Ghilardi, M., Dotsika, E., 2014. Clastic sedi-mentary features of beachrocks and their palaeo-environmental significance: comparison of past and modern coastal regimes. International Journal of Sediment Research 29, 260e268.
Rey, D., Rubio, B., Bernabeu, A., Vilas, F., 2004. Formation, exposure, and evolution of a high-latitude beachrock in the intertidal zone of the Corrubedo complex (Ria de Arousa, Galicia, NW Spain). Sedimentary Geology 169, 93e105.
Riedel, H., 1996. Die holozane Entwicklung des Dalyan-Deltas (Sudwest-Turkei) unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der historischen Zeit. In: Marburger Geo-graphische Schriften, vol. 130. Marburger Geograph, Marburg/Lahn.
Robertson, A.H.F., Mountrakis, D., 2006. Tectonic Development of the Eastern Mediterranean Region: an Introduction. In: Geological Society, London, Special Publications 260, pp. 1e9.
Russel, R.J., 1959. Caribbean beach rock observations. Zeitschrift für Geo-morphologie 3, 227e236.
Russell, R.J., Mclntire, W., 1965. Southern hemisphere beach rock. Geographical Reviews 55, 17e45.
Sanlaville, P., Dalongeville, R., Bernier, P., Evin, J., 1997. The Syrian coast: a model of Holocene coastal evolution. Journal of Coastal Research 13 (2), 385e396.
Schattner, I., 1967. Geomorphology of the northern coast of Israel. Geografiska Annaler 49, 310e320.
Schmalz, R.F., 1971. Formation of beachrock at Eniwetok Atoll. In: Bricker, O.P. (Ed.), Carbonate Cements. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp. 17e24.
Scoffin, T.P., Stoddart, D.R., 1983. Beachrock and intertidal sediments. In: Goudie, A.S., Pye, K. (Eds.), Chemical Sediments and Geomorphology. Academic Press, London, pp. 401e425.
S¸eng€or, A.M.C., G€orür, N., S¸aroglu, F., 1985. Strike slip faulting and related basin formation in zones of tectonic escape: Turkey as a case study. Society of Eco-nomic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publications 37, 227e264.
Sivan, D., Lambeck, K., Toueg, R., Raban, A., Porath, Y., Shirman, B., 2004. Ancient coastal wells of Caesarea Maritima, Israel, an indicator for relative sea level changes during the last 2000 years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 222, 315e330.
Spratt, T.A., Forbes, E., 1847. Travels in Lycia, Milyas, and the Cibyratis, vol. I and II. John Van Voorst, London.
Spurgeon, D., Davis Jr., R.A., Shinnu, E.A., 2003. Formation of‘Beach Rock’ at Siesta Key, Florida and its influence on barrier island development. Marine Geology 200, 19e29.
Stattegger, K., Tjallingii, R., Saito, Y., Michelli, M., Thanh, N.T., Wetzel, A., 2013. Mid to late Holocene sea-level reconstruction of Southeast Vietnam using beachrock and beach-ridge deposits. Global and Planetary Change 110 (B), 214e222.
Stoddart, D.R., Cann, J.R., 1965. Nature and origin of beach rock. Journal of Sedi-mentary Petrology 35 (1), 243e273.
Taillefer, F., 1964. Morphologie littorale et gres de plage a Virans¸ehir pres de Mersin (Turquie). Revue Geographie de l'Est 4, 393e398.
Thomas, P.J., 2009. Luminescence dating of beachrock in the southeast coast of India-potential for Holocene shoreline reconstruction. Journal of Coastal Research 25 (1), 1e7.
Türkes¸, M., Sarıs¸, F., 2007. Trends and changes of mean, maximum, minimum temperature and precipitation series in Northern Cyprus. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 13, 281e305.
Usvyatsov, S., Galil, B.S., 2012. Comparison of reproductive characteristics among populations of Dendropoma petraeum-complex Mollusca: Caenogastropoda), an endemic Mediterranean reef-building vermetid. Journal of the Marine Bio-logical Association of the United Kingdom 92 (1), 163e170.
Van Geel, B., Buurman, J., Waterbolk, H.T., 1996. Archaeological and palaeoecological indications of an abrupt climate change in The Netherlands, and evidence for climatological teleconnections around 2650 BP. Journal of Quaternary Science 11, 451e460.
Van Geel, B., van der Plicht, J., Kilian, M.R., Klaver, E.R., Kouwenberg, J.M., Renssen, H., Reynaud, F.I., Waterbolk, H.T., 1998. The sharp rise of Delta (super 14) C ca. 800 cal BC; possible causes, related climatic teleconnections and the impact on human environments. Radiocarbon 40, 535e550.
Vieira, M.M., De Ros, L.F., 2006. Cementation patterns and genetic implications of Holocene beachrocks from northeastern Brazil. Sedimentary Geology 192, 207e230.
Vousdoukas, M., Velegrakis, A., Plomaritis, T., 2007. Beachrock occurrence, charac-teristics, formation mechanism and impacts. Earth-Science Reviews 85, 23e46.
Vousdoukas, M., Velegrakis, A.F., Kontogianni, A., Makrykosta, E., 2009. Implications of the cementation of beach sediments for the recreational use of the beach. Tourism Management 30, 544e552.
Waters, J.V., Jones, S., Armstrong, H., 2010. Climatic controls on late Pleistocene alluvial fans, Cyprus. Geomorphology 115, 228e251.
Wdowinski, S., Ben-Avraham, Z., Arvidsson, R., Ekstr€om, G., 2006. Seismotectonics of the Cyprian Arc. Geophysical Journal International 164, 176e181.
Wunderlich, J., Andres, W., 1991. Late Pleistocene and Holocene evolution of the eastern Nile delta and comparison with the western delta. In: Bruckner, H., Radtke, U. (Eds.), Vonder Nordsee bis sum Indischen Ozean. Erdkundliches Wissen, vol. 105, pp. 121e130.
