Publication Date:
2020-02-24
Description:
This paper provides new relative sea-level data inferred from coastal archaeological sites located
along the Turkish coasts of the Gulf of Fethye (8 sites), and Israel, between Akziv and Caesarea (5
sites). The structures selected are those that, for effective functioning, can be accurately related to
sea level at the time of their construction. Thus their positions with respect to present sea level
provide a measure of the relative sea level change since their time of construction. Useful
information was obtained from the investigated sites spanning an age range of ~2.3 to ~1.6 ka BP.
The inferred changes in relative sea level for the two areas are distinctly different, from a rise of
2.41 to 4.50 m in Turkey and from 0 to 0.18 m in Israel. Sea level change is the combination of
several processes, including vertical tectonics, glacio–hydro-isostatic signals associated with the last
glacial cycle, and changes in ocean volume. For the Israel section, the present elevations of the MIS
5.5 Tyrrhenian terraces occur at a few meters above present sea level and vertical tectonic
displacements are small. Data from GPS and tide gauge measurements also indicate that any recent
vertical movements are small. The MIS-5.5 shorelines are absent from the investigated section of
the Turkish coast, consistent with crustal subsidence associated with the Hellenic Arc. The isostatic
signals for the Israel section of the coast are also small (ranging from -0.11 mm/year to 0.14
mm/year, depending on site and earth model) and the observed (eustatic) average sea level change,
corrected for this contribution, is a rise of 13.5±2.6 cm during the past ~2 ka. This is attributed to
the time-integrated contribution to sea level from a combination of thermal expansion and other
increases in ocean volume. The observed sea levels from the Turkish sites, in contrast, indicate a
much greater rise of up to 2.2 mm/yr since 2.3 ka BP occurring in a wide area between Knidos and
Kekova. The isostatic signal here is also one of a rising sea level (of up to ~ 1mm/year and site and
earth-model dependent) and the corrected tectonic rate of land subsidence is ~1.48 mm/year. This
is the primary cause of dramatic relative sea level rise for this part of the coast.
Description:
In press
Description:
3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra
Description:
JCR Journal
Description:
open
Keywords:
Turkey, Israel, Sea level, vertical tectonics
;
04. Solid Earth::04.03. Geodesy::04.03.99. General or miscellaneous
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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