Depositional Characteristics of Carbonate-Cemented Fossil Eolian Sand Dunes: Bozcaada Island, Turkey

Erginal, A.E.; Ekinci, Y.L.; Demirci, A.; Avciog ulu, M.; Ozturk, M.Z.; Tur kes M., and Yig uitbas ¸, E., 2013. Depositional characteristics of carbonate-cemented fossil eolian sand dunes: Bozcaada Island, Turkey. Journal of Coastal Research, 29(1), 78-85. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal eolianite on the south coast of Bozcaada Island, Turkey, was investigated by field observations, petrographic and climatological examinations, and electrical resistivity tomography data. The 4- to 7-m-thick eolianite, including rhizolith morphotypes characterized by root tubules and bifurcated root casts, demonstrates dune-sand accumulation during the Upper Pleistocene. Our results showed that paleowind drift and recent windblown sand drift on the island are similar. The dune sands exhibit various cement types formed of calcite and aragonite, such as micrite encrustations, meniscus and gravitational cements, and in particular, void fills. Dune-sand accumulation took place on the truncated surface of Miocene deposits. Geophysical data showed the existence of large weathered cavities within the eolianite and a high- angle normal fault, which displaces the eolianite, together with the underlying Miocene unit.