Editors' Highlight
Coastal notches and seismic uplift rates in Greece
On rocky coastlines, abrasion, dissolution, and biological activity can create an erosion notch where the ocean meets land. Given that sea level has generally risen since the end of the last glacial period 20,000 years ago, Cooper et al. (2007) hypothesized that notches stay at the coastline if sea level rise is matched by tectonic uplift. However, if sea level rise is outpaced by tectonic uplift, notches will be stranded above the coastline. Noting that stranded notches can reveal uplift rates in seismic areas, the authors studied four known paleoshorelines along a stretch of coastline in Greece; according to prior work, marine fauna found in these four notches indicate that they are 650, 1900, 3700, and 6500 years old, respectively, correlating to known periods of sea level stability. Using the notches' elevations, the authors were able to calculate uplift rates. These values correspond well with known uplift rates during the last ice age, suggesting that notch sequences could be used in some locations to characterize long-term patterns of uplift, slip rate, and seismic hazards on active faults.
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Published: 21 July 2007
Citation: (2007), A comparison of 103–105 year uplift rates on the South Alkyonides Fault, central Greece: Holocene climate stability and the formation of coastal notches, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L14310, doi:10.1029/2007GL030673.