Abstract
Beachrocks are well known as significant proxies for paleoenvironmental analysis as they indicate the coastal evolution. The combination of geomorphological and archaeological sea level indicators has a significant contribution to the coastal paleogeographic reconstruction. In this study, we studied a beachrock from the Diolkos area (West Corinth canal, Greece) and remnants of Diolkos slipway to reconstruct the coastal evolution before Diolkos construction until today. We conducted detailed mapping of Diolkos beachrock using DGPS-GNSS, as well as mineralogical analysis and OSL dating of beachrock samples. The results showed that a beachrock slab was preserved before the construction of Diolkos below it, followed by its submergence by a co-seismic event after Diolkos abandonment during 146 B.C. Consequently, a new beachrock was developed on top of the submerged Diolkos around 120 ± 14 A.D. The RSL was stable until 1596 ± 57 A.D. when the beachrock developed even closer to the present-day coastline. After 1596 A.D., it was uplifted by 12 cm until it reached today’s condition.
Highlights
Research on coastal evolution is an important tool for interpreting future littoral changes in the context of climate change [1,2]
The cement is composed of two mineralogies: high magnesium calcite (HMC) and aragonite [13]
The cement is composed of acicular aragonite with isopachous fringes within the lower intertidal zone, or HMC cements with thin-bladed isopachous crusts, or dark or golden brown, pelletal and micritic, irregular grain coatings and void fillings [15,16]
Summary
Research on coastal evolution is an important tool for interpreting future littoral changes in the context of climate change [1,2]. Several recent studies have used a wide variety of coastal sediments in an attempt to reconstruct late Holocene littoral changes [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Beachrocks are hard littoral deposits, which are composed of a wide variety of beach sediments that are lithified through the precipitation of carbonate cement at the shoreline [9,10,11,12]. The cement is composed of two mineralogies: high magnesium calcite (HMC) and aragonite [13]. The cement is composed of acicular aragonite with isopachous fringes within the lower intertidal zone, or HMC cements with thin-bladed isopachous crusts, or dark or golden brown, pelletal and micritic, irregular grain coatings and void fillings [15,16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
