Mid- to late-Holocene sea-level evolution of the northeastern Aegean sea

• Published in: Holocene (Sevenoaks) 2021-10, Vol.31 (10), p.1621-1634
• Main Authors: Seeliger, Martin, Pint, Anna, Frenzel, Peter, Marriner, Nick, Spada, Giorgio, Vacchi, Matteo, Başaran, Sait, Dan, Anca, Seeger, Friederike, Seeger, Katharina, Schmidts, Thomas, Brückner, Helmut
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Archaeology; Archaeology and Prehistory; Earth Sciences; Evolution; Foraminifera; Holocene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Sciences of the Universe; Sea level; Sea level changes; Sea level rise; Sedimentary facies; Stratigraphy; Subsidence; Surveys; Tectonics; Typology
• ISSN: 0959-6836; 1477-0911
• DOI: 10.1177/09596836211025967

We combined biostratigraphical analyses, archaeological surveys, and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models to provide new insights into the relative sea-level evolution in the northeastern Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean). In this area, characterized by a very complex tectonic pattern, we produced a new typology of sea-level index point, based on the foraminiferal associations found in transgressive marine facies. Our results agree with the sea-level history previously produced in this region, therefore confirming the validity of this new type of index point. The expanded dataset presented in this paper further demonstrates a continuous Holocene RSL rise in this portion of the Aegean Sea. Comparing the new RSL record with the available geophysical predictions of sea-level evolution indicates that the crustal subsidence of the Samothraki Plateau and the North Aegean Trough played a major role in controlling millennial-scale sea-level evolution in the area. This major subsidence rate needs to be taken into account in the preparation of local future scenarios of sea-level rise in the coming decades.