Records of repeated drought stages during the Holocene, Lake Iznik (Turkey) with reference to beachrock

Abstract

The cement fabrics, subsurface nature and optically stimulated luminescence age of beachrocks along the shores of Lake Iznik in NW Turkey were studied within the context of Holocene lake level changes. With a maximum thickness of 1.5 m, the low-angle (average 5–10°) beds are composed of coarse grains and small gravels and extend up to 5 m offshore at their most lakeward extremities. Cement textures on and around the poorly-rounded grains are made up of micrite envelopes and meniscus bridges as well as acicular aragonite rims. Geoelectrical resistivity sections taken from a representative location along the beach where the beds have maximum thickness showed that the sand-buried beds are followed up to about 24 m landward. Based on the OSL ages of 33 samples, the cemented beds occurred at four drier periods of the following: Pre- and Early Holocene (dated to 15–9 ka), Holocene Climatic Optimum (7.9–5.6 ka), Middle Holocene (4.9 ka–2.8 ka) and Late Holocene (2.0 ka–0.9 ka).