Abstract
Numerous sandy deposits, interpreted as the remains of old climbing dunes, are preserved on the cliffy coast of Galicia (northwest Spain). These deposits can be found both in open coastal areas and in the interior of the Galician Rias. In this paper, a formation age is established for four aeolianite outcrops dating back to 166 ± 9 ka, 131 ± 6 ka, 128 ± 18 ka and 62 ± 3 ka, using the IRSL290 signal of feldspars. These sands were mobilised by coastal winds from a sea level lower than the current one during MIS6 and MIS4. The sea level fall during these regressive episodes shifted the coastline several kilometres away from its current position. This favoured the action of the wind blowing over the emerged coastal strip, which acted as a source area for aeolian sands. During warmer episodes, such as the Eemian and the Holocene, the advance of the sands onto the coast was progressively reduced as the sea level rose and the oceanic waters flooded the continental shelf.
Highlights
On the Atlantic coast of Galicia (NW Spain) (Figure 1), there are fossilised sandy deposits that are preserved along stretches of low coastlines and in areas of rocky coastal cliffs of different elevations, reaching altitudes of +45 m above the present sea level [1]
To estimate the dose rates (Drs) (Table 1), a percentage of the water content during the burial time of 20 ± 2% was assumed for the Lagoa dos Nenos, Punta Langosteira and Bornalle samples and 30 ± 3% for the Corme sample (Table 1), based on the moisture and saturation data calculated for each sample
The pIR-IRSL dating technique was suitable to establish a precise chronology of the aeolianite outcrops studied in this paper, which were characterised as climbing dunes [1]
Summary
On the Atlantic coast of Galicia (NW Spain) (Figure 1), there are fossilised sandy deposits that are preserved along stretches of low coastlines and in areas of rocky coastal cliffs of different elevations, reaching altitudes of +45 m (or more) above the present sea level (apsl) [1]. The simplest idea was that they were all beach levels; the higher the elevation, the older they were and the sea reached a hypothetically higher level. This reasoning was invalidated by the fact that, as in this case, there are aeolian deposits that can only be related to regressive marine episodes. This altitudinal criterion became even more confusing when considering the rise of the Galician coast during the last 650 ka [3]. The unavailability of adequate dating techniques did not allow for a more precise chronology
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