Abstract
In some islands of the Aegean, there is evidence of the occurrence of repeated rapid subsidences during the Late Holocene. In this paper, the shape of tidal notches that may be well-preserved underwater is recalled in order to reconstruct sequences of coseismic subsidences and other relative sea-level changes, which occurred during, at least, the last few millennia. A reanalysis of the published measurements of submerged tidal notches in several islands reveals that subsidence trends in many areas of the Aegean are not continuous with gradual movement but, also, are the result of repeated coseismic vertical subsidences of some decimetres at each time. The estimated average return times are of the order of approximately some centuries to one millennium. Although the results cannot be used for short-term predictions of earthquakes, they may provide useful indications on the long-term tectonic trends that are active in the Aegean region.
Highlights
Tidal notches are well-known sea-level indicators, marking clearly former shorelines, which have often been used to deduce Quaternary tectonic trends and sea-level changes.If raised notches, sometimes associated with marine terraces or reef tracts, have often been used to estimate past changes in sea level and tectonic movements [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], submerged notches, which are more difficult to observe, have been studied only occasionally by a few authors
In preceding papers [21,22,23], we found evidence, in some islands of Cyclades and Sporades, of the occurrence of repeated rapid subsidence during the Late Holocene
We shall provide below several examples showing that the erosion profiles of tidal notches are systematically indicative of the relative sea-level changes that have occurred during their development period and show that approximate estimations of this period of development can be provided by using adequate assumptions on the local rates of intertidal bioerosion
Summary
Tidal notches are well-known sea-level indicators, marking clearly former shorelines, which have often been used to deduce Quaternary tectonic trends and sea-level changes. Sometimes associated with marine terraces or reef tracts, have often been used to estimate past changes in sea level and tectonic movements [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], submerged notches, which are more difficult to observe, have been studied only occasionally by a few authors Such underwater observations were, most of the time, devoted to the measurement and interpretation of a single submerged tidal notch [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. We shall provide below several examples showing that the erosion profiles of tidal notches are systematically indicative of the relative sea-level changes that have occurred during their development period and show that approximate estimations of this period of development can be provided by using adequate assumptions on the local rates of intertidal bioerosion
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