Holocene Transgressive Sands on the Nearshore of a Micro-tidal Shelf

Abstract

A beach retreat by the Holocene sea-level rise is commonly observed in shelf environments. To investigate into a consequence of the beach retreat in a micro-tidal shelf, surface and cored sediments were sampled from a coastal area around a stream in the eastern coast of Korea and were analyzed texturally. A coastal stratigraphy is constructed with three units representing fluvial sediments, eolian sands and beach sands in an ascending order. This stratigraphy results from the Holocene transgression. The textural characteristics of the units are compared with those of the surficial samples to determine the origin of surficial sands. As a result, the nearshore sands in the study area are most probably the erosional remnants of the antecedent eolian and beach sands. This study exemplifies the Holocene transgression over a narrow, steep shelf whereby active shoreface erosion left portions of beach sediments behind in small estuarine environments.