Development of spit–lagoon complexes in response to Little Ice Age rapid sea-level changes in the...

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Development of spit–lagoon complexes in response to Little Ice Age rapid sea-levelchanges in the central Guilan coast, South Caspian Sea, Iran

A. Naderi Beni a,⁎, H. Lahijani b, R. Moussavi Harami a, S.A.G. Leroy c, M. Shah-Hosseini b,K. Kabiri b,d, V. Tavakoli e

a Geology Group, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iranb Marine Geology Department, Iranian National Institute for Oceanography (INIO), Tehran, Iranc Institute for the Environment, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, London, UKd Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Geospatial Information Science Research Center, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysiae Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

a b s t r a c ta r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 12 April 2010Received in revised form 27 November 2012Accepted 29 November 2012Available online 6 December 2012

Keywords:Caspian SeaSea-level changeLittle Ice AgeCoastal evolution

The central Guilan coast along the Iranian Caspian coastline is characterized by sandy beaches and the devel-opment of spit–lagoon complexes, which are prone to preserve past sea-level fluctuations. The morphologyof three spit–lagoon complexes along the central Guilan coast was studied using ground penetrating radar(GPR) and sediment sequences to understand the effects of past sea-level changes on spit–lagoon develop-ment. The results showed the prominent role of coastal setting in conditioning the development of spit–la-goon formation in response to sea-level change. When the Caspian Sea experienced a highstand in theLittle Ice Age, the coast of central Guilan recorded fluctuations in sedimentation which are reflected, for ex-ample, by river avulsion and beach ridge formation depending on physical setting. In the western half of thecentral Guilan, eastward longshore currents and strong wave action on a W–E coastline coupled withsea-level changes shaped the Anzali spit–lagoon complex; while in the eastern part of the studied areariver avulsion and changing the coastline orientation are responsible for development of the Amirkola andKiashahr spit–lagoon complexes under the same sea-level fluctuations. Although sea-level change has amajor role in spit–lagoon development, an increase in the frequency of storms, changes in sediment supplydue to more precipitation, and river avulsion are other players in spit–lagoon development in the centralGuilan during the Little Ice Age and more recent times.

© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Geomorphological study of the Caspian coastal zone is an effectiveapproach with which to understand Caspian sea-level changes(Rychagov, 1997). In addition to sea-level, sediment supply andsubstrate gradient (Dillenburg and Hesp, 2009), hydrodynamicprocesses (Holland and Elmore, 2008) and coastal orientation (Hespet al., 2009) are other dominant controls on coastline development.

As the largest closed basin in the world, the Caspian Sea lies~26.5 m below global sea level (mbsl). However, it has experiencedsea-level fluctuations since the Pliocene when it was separated fromthe open sea (Varushchenko et al., 1987; Federov, 1995). Accordingto Mamedov (1997), at least seven major oscillations in the CaspianSea are distinguishable during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.The last extreme transgression (Late Khvalynian highstand) andregression (Mangyshlak lowstand) have occurred in the Late Pleisto-cene and Early Holocene, respectively. Sea level rose to 10 mbsl

during the Late Khvalynian highstand and then it dropped to50 mbsl during Mangyshlak lowstand (Rychagov, 1997). In additionto these two last extreme changes in Caspian Sea level, many smallerscale fluctuations are recorded in the sedimentary sequences(Varushchenko et al., 1987; Federov, 1995; Mamedov, 1997;Rychagov, 1997; Kroonenberg et al., 2000; Leroy et al., 2007; Lahijaniet al., 2009) (Fig. 1). Mamedov (1997) distinguished eight minor peri-odic cycles over the last 4000 years, with each cycle lasting c.450–500 years. According to Shermatov et al. (2004), the naturallong-term oscillation of the Caspian Sea during the Holocene is3–3.5 m. Rychagov (1997) argued that the Caspian sea-level did notexceed 25 mbsl over the past 2000–2500 years. Notwithstandingthis finding, at least three sea-level highstands, with ages of 2400,900 and 500 yr BP and corresponding levels of 22, 24 and 25 mbsl,were recognized on the Iranian Caspian coasts (Lahijani et al.,2009). On a millennial timescale, sea levels were low during theearly Medieval times (Omrani et al., 2007) and high during the LittleIce Age (Leroy et al., 2011), with an amplitude much larger, perhaps,more than double, than the 3 m amplitude recorded during lastcentury (Fig. 2). The rate of the most recent sea-level changes that

Geomorphology 187 (2013) 11–26

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +98 21 66944870.E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Naderi Beni).

0169-555X/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.11.026

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began since 1929 is about a hundred times faster than that in theworld oceans (Kroonenberg et al., 2000) (Fig. 2).

Rapid sea-level changes have different impacts on the Caspianshores as a function of coastal setting. Passive inundation, beach–ridgeformation, barrier–lagoon development and general erosion are themost typical coastal responses to rapid sea-level rise (Kaplin andSelivanov, 1995). The development of spit–lagoon complexes is one ofthe consequences of rapid sea-level rise on moderate slope coasts(Lahijani, 1997; Voropaev et al., 1998). This type of coast has beeninvestigated in Dagestan, Russia (Kroonenberg et al., 2000), Azerbaijan(Storms and Kroonenberg, 2007) and Iran (Lahijani et al., 2009;Kakroodi et al., 2012).

Recently, the ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique hasbecome more widely used for imaging subsurface sedimentarydeposits (Jol et al., 1996; Neal and Roberts, 2000; Neal et al., 2003;Pontee et al., 2004). GPR provides continuous views into the subsur-face and has shown great potential for use in oceanic coastal settings(Buynevich et al., 2004; Dougherty et al., 2004; Lobo et al., 2005) andlake shorelines (Johnston et al., 2007; Kroonenberg et al., 2007;Wilkins and Clement, 2007). Barriers and spits are the most popularmarine settings in GPR studies (Johnston et al., 2007). Barrier–lagooncomplexes with different combinations of internal structures andrelated deposits such as washover, scarp, shell-rich sediments andburied soils are useful proxies with which to determine pastsea-level changes (Dougherty et al., 2004).

This study focuses on three spit–lagoon complexes in the centralGuilan coast to highlight the impacts of rapid sea-level changes ondeveloping the morphology spit–lagoon in different coastal settings

and document the internal structure of the Late Holocene sedimenta-ry sequences.

2. Geographical setting

The Caspian Sea as the largest closed basin in the world has anarea of 390,000 km2. The lake is latitudinally stretched and has anaverage length of 1200 km and width of about 400 km. The CaspianSea is an almost tide-free lake with a mean water level ~26.5 mbslsince 1995 (Fig. 2) and its mean salinity is one third of the worldoceans. Based on the basin morphology, it can be divided into threesub-basins: North, Middle and South Caspian (Kroonenberg et al.,2000). The maximum depth of the northern part is ~25 m while itreaches more than 1000 m in the southern sub-basin. Around 130rivers with different sediment loads and water discharge flow to theCaspian Sea from the north, west and south. The greatest river, theVolga, flows from the north and supplies ~80% of all river flow intothe Caspian Sea. Changes in the river's discharge might be the mainreason for Caspian Sea fluctuations (Kroonenberg et al., 2007). TheSefidrud River is the greatest river in the South Caspian basin thatbrings the largest amount of sediments into the sea (Lahijani et al.,2008).

The Iranian Caspian coastline extends over 800 km, which ischaracterized by different types of accumulation regions (Voropaevet al., 1998) and high rates of sedimentation (Vahabi Moghaddam etal., 2006). The coast consists of different landforms and geomorpho-logical features, developing mainly in the Quaternary (Kazancı et al.,2004), among them the Sefidrud Delta, and the Anzali and Amirkolaspit–lagoons are prominent coastal morphological features (Fig. 3).The sandy and gravely beaches are more dominant in the westernand central parts of the South Caspian coast (Lahijani et al., 2009).

Central Guilan, the area between the Anzali Spit in the west andthe Amirkola Spit in the east (Fig. 3), is a suitable area for spit–lagoondevelopment due to changing shoreline direction, strong longshorecurrents and high riverine sediment supply (Lahijani, 1997). Sincethe astronomical tide is absent in the Caspian basin, atmosphericfactors play an important role in the flow field of the basin (Ghaffariand Chegini, 2009) and in shaping the coastal landforms.

Generally, the study area is composed of well-sorted siliciclasticsands with a gentle to moderate slope in the nearshore and beach.A strong littoral drift transports sediments eastward and diverts theriver mouths in the same direction (Lahijani et al., 2008). The averageannual precipitation on central Guilan is ~2000 mm. The winds fromthe north (northwest, north) dominate in the central Guilan most of

Fig. 1. Fluctuation in the level of the Caspian Sea over the last 10,000 years (Rychagov, 1997).

Fig. 2. Instrumental records of the Caspian water level for the period 1880–2010.

12 A. Naderi Beni et al. / Geomorphology 187 (2013) 11–26


the year. Although the annual average wind speeds in the SouthCaspian Sea are sizably low and reach up to 2–3 m/s on the Iranianonshore (http://www.iranhydrology.com/meteo.asp), the region issubject to strong storms at the rate of about eight storms per decade,with a wave height of more than 3.5 m (Yeganeh-Bakhtiari andMohammadian, 2009). According to recorded data from the Anzalibuoy, deployed in 25 m of water, the highest wave recorded duringthe last decade belongs to the storm of October 2008 in which thewave height reached 3.88 m. The hydrodynamics of the coastalregion are characterized by a prevalence of northwest waves(Terziev, 1992) with concomitant eastward longshore current(Voropaev et al., 1998). The eastward littoral drift is responsible forthe enlargement of the Anzali Spit (Lahijani et al., 2009).

The Anzali Spit, with a length of ~20 km and an average width of~700 m, separates Anzali Lagoon from the sea (Fig. 3). Around5.6×106 t of sediment load is transported annually into the lagoonby fifteen small rivers (Hydrorybproject, 1965). The rivers also areresponsible for its freshwater dominance as the maximum salinityof the lagoon reaches to 3.49 g/l (Hydrorybproject, 1965; Lahijani etal., 2008). The average width and depth of the lagoon are ~3 kmand ~2.5 m respectively, which are intensely affected by sea-levelfluctuations and climatic variations (Kazancı et al., 2004).

The Sefidrud River, the greatest river of the Iranian Caspian coast,with water discharge of ~126 m3/s and ~750 g/m3 of sediment load,has repeatedly changed its course in the area between Anzali andAmirkola lagoons (Kousari, 1986). The last avulsion occurred in1600 AD and the river diverted its course from east, near AmirkolaLagoon, towards the west near Kiashahr port (Lahijani et al., 2009)(Fig. 3).

The Amirkola and Kiashahr spit–lagoon complexes are located onthe eastern flank of the Sefidrud Delta (Fig. 3). The Kiashahr Spit isdivided into two parts by a channel. These kinds of channels are aban-doned branches of Sefidrud River (Kazancı et al., 2004). The southernsegment of the spit has a length of ~5.5 km and an average width of~100 m. Irrigation waters and run-off feed the lagoon.

The direction of the South Caspian coastline changes from E–W toNW–SE near Amirkola Lagoon. Unlike the two previously mentionedlagoons, the Amirkola spit–lagoon complex lies on the NW–SE flankof the coast on the southern side of the Kohneh Sefidrud River (OldSefidrud River) (Fig. 3). The depth of Amirkola Lagoon is usuallyless than 2 m and depends greatly on freshwater input provided byirrigation water and precipitation.

3. Methods

Two-dimensional shallow geophysical surveys have been carriedout along seven transects normal to the coastline (Fig. 3) using aRAMAC/GPR system. The ground penetrating radar (GPR) systemwas equipped with an unshielded transmitter and receiver antennawith a mean frequency of 50 and 100 MHz, depending on the targetdepth and to provide a good tradeoff between depth penetrationand resolution.

In order to ground truth of the radar units, two exposures of sandmining open pits and three cores were combined with the GPRprofiles (Fig. 3). The core samples were taken by a vibracorer system.The coring sites are shown in Fig. 3. They were sub-sampled system-atically and have been treated in the marine geology laboratory of theIranian National Institute for Oceanography (INIO) for getting basic

Fig. 3. A: The study area of the south shore of the South Caspian Sea basin. B: The spit–lagoon complexes in central Guilan and their position relative to Sefidrud River and Alborz Moun-tains. Wave height and direction as well as their frequency are shown as rose diagrams in three different coastal settings based on Iranian SeaWaveModeling (ISWM) report (Chegini etal., 2003). The location of surface samples along the shoreline is shown as filled squares. Z: Anzali spit–lagoon and the position of GPR profile aswell as exposures. K: Kiashahr spit–lagoonand the position of GPR and beach profiles (a and b) and coring location (B and C). L: Amirkola Lagoon, the GPR and beach profiles (a and b) and the coring site (A).

13A. Naderi Beni et al. / Geomorphology 187 (2013) 11–26


sedimentological results including organic matter content, carbonatecontent and grain size. In addition to the core samples, eighteensurface samples have been collected along the shoreline (Fig. 3B)from Anzali Spit in the west to Amirkola Spit in the east and analyzedfor determining the grain size changing along the shoreline. Formeasuring organic matter and carbonate content, a NaberthermP330 furnace was used based on Heiri et al. (2001) outlined methods.A Fritsch standard sieve stack was implemented for getting grain-sizeresults. The grain-size results were plotted by Autosieb Fritsch Sizingsoftware.

Four beach profiles have been surveyed along the GPR transectsperpendicular to shoreline using a Leica TCR-407 Total Station(Fig. 3). The results were applied in GPR data processing and surfacemorphology observations.

The Reflex2quick software was employed to conduct differentstandard processing steps on the GPR reflection data. Standard filter-ing processes such as DC shift, static correction, gain function, bandpass filtering and running average filter as well as topographic correc-tion have been utilized to achieve the best subsurface images. Thedepth scale was based on average near surface velocity which is0.068 m/ns and was determined from common midpoint measure-ments. In order to identify the radar facies, important boundingsurfaces and their interpretation, the principles outlined in Neal(2004) have been used.

Three articulated bivalve samples (Cerastoderma lamarcki) and asample of bulk organic matter were selected and sent to PoznanRadiocarbon Laboratory for radiocarbon dating. The reservoir effectwas calculated and applied as in Kroonenberg et al. (2007) for shellsamples. Calendar ages were obtained from the Calib Rev 6.0.1software (Reimer et al., 2009) based on Intcal 09.14C database.

4. Results and interpretation

GPR techniques, surface morphology observations and sedimento-logical studies have been conducted to understand the relationshipsbetween the internal structure of the coastal landforms and Caspianrapid sea-level changes, with an emphasis on coastal setting. Theobservations at different stations are described in detail as follows:

4.1. Surface studies

4.1.1. Shoreline surface samplesThe grain size along the shoreline of central Guilan generally

decreases as sorting increases from west to east (Fig. 4). A sharpchange can be seen at 50.025○ E along the shoreline, which couldbe related to seasonal stream flows as well as artificial changesrelated to civil engineering works. The changes in grain size reflectchanges in the energy condition along the coastline.

Medium to coarse-grained sand covers the modern seaward beachat Anzali. The surface of the lagoonward portion of the spit is coveredby medium to fine-grained sands. However, near the river mouths onthe southern flank of Anzali Lagoon, sediments are composed ofpoorly sorted gravely sands. Medium-sized rivers with high gradientbottom topography are common in central Guilan (Lahijani et al.,2008) and can bring coarse-grained components to the beach.

The beach sediment of Kiashahr is composed of medium sandfraction containing heavy minerals (Fig. 5). The presence of heavymineral concentration is an evidence of storm deposits (Buynevichet al., 2004; Dougherty et al., 2004). Heavy minerals are concentratedabove the erosion surface as lag deposits during the waning stage ofstorm when storm wave erosion decreases (Lindhorst et al., 2008).

Fig. 4. Grain size changes along the South Caspian shoreline in central Guilan.

Fig. 5. Heavy mineral (HM) patches on the Kiashahr beach (A) and their changes along a trench (B). The trench could be divided in two parts based on the presence of heavy min-erals. A shell layer could be seen at the bottom of the trench (photographed by Shahoseini (A) and Naderi Beni (B) in 2009).



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The beach in Amirkola, east of the study area is composed ofwell-sorted medium-sized sands with some quantities of heavyminerals that are considerably less than that in the Kiashahr Spit.

4.1.2. Beach profilesAmirkola profile shows the undulating topography of the spit

(Fig. 6A). Here, the beach is narrow and less than 100 m in width.Nearshore and beach slope is around 2 and 3°, respectively.

Two profiles were measured at two ends of Kiashahr spit–lagooncomplex (Fig. 6B, C). The beach at the eastern end of the spit (Fig. 6B)is gently dipping towards the sea. Generally, the elevation of the spitis not more than 2 m above the present Caspian sea-level, whichpermits storm surges and high waves to cross the whole width of thespit and deposit sediments on lagoonward slope. The nearshore slopein Kiashahr varies between 1 and 2°, whereas the beach slope is lessthan 2° on average.

The maximum landward extent of wave run-up has a significantrole in reshaping of the beach profile and deposition of the erodedmaterials on the backshore (Komar, 1998). Indeed, Komar (1998)also concluded that the maximum landward extension of the run-upin low-slope beaches with a relatively wide surf zone, such as onKiashahr beach, depends on the incident wave height. It appears,therefore, that storm events have significant role in shaping themodernmorphology of the Kiashahr Spit.

The width of Anzali Spit varies between 300 m in its westernmostend to more than 4500 m in the easternmost side near Anzali town(Fig. 3). The maximum elevation in profiling station is more than6 m due to presence of dunes (coastal sands in Kazancı et al., 2004)which are artificially altered. This elevation prevents severe wavesreaching inland (Fig. 6D). The nearshore slope varies between 2 and3°. The foreshore is relatively narrow and is less than 40 m.

4.2. Subsurface studies

The lithology of sediment cores and outcrops, radiocarbon datingand GPR measurements are described in this part. Core locations arepresented in Figs. 3 and 6.

4.2.1. SedimentologyAmirkola: Core A was located on Amirkola Spit (Fig. 3L). The core

contains a succession of lagoonal and fluviodeltaic sediments as wellas marine deposits (Fig. 7A). The lagoonal deposits are indicated bythe presence of organic-rich sediments, finer grained materials assilt and mud with high organic matter. Such sediment has beenstudied in three cores and the sedimentological characteristics canbe found in Leroy et al. (2011). The fluviodeltaic sediments areindicated by poorly sorted sands, wood remnants and presence ofheavy minerals. Marine deposits are distinguished by the presenceof high concentration of marine shells and well-sorted sands.

Fig. 7. Sedimentary logs in the central Guilan spit–lagoon complexes. A: Amirkola, B: Kiashahr, East, C: Kiashahr, West, and D: Anzali. See Fig. 3 for the locations within the centralGuilan coastal area. The stars indicate the location of calibrated radiocarbon dates. TOM = total organic matter.

Table 1AMS radiocarbon dating of the sediment cores. The calibrated ages are reported for 2σ range with highest probabilities shown in parentheses. The Reservoir Effect (RE) was cal-culated and applied to the marine bivalves based on Kroonenberg et al. (2007).

Geographicalsetting

Samplename

Depth of sampling(cm)

Type ofmaterial

Radiocarbon age(yr BP)

Calibrated age (yr BP)2σ range

Corrected for RE(yr BP)

Calendar age(AD)

Kiashahr Spit Anten-10 390 Organic matter 104.44±0.31 224–254 (0.36)112–137 (0.27)

– 1696–1726

Kiashahr Spit Kiagab-05 260 Shell 875±30 726–832 (0.76) 436–542 1408–1514Anzali Spit Sang-N-05 330 Shell 960±30 795–929 (1) 505–639 1311–1445Anzali Spit Sang-N-07 280 Shell 860±30 693–799 (0.87) 403–509 1441–1547



Kiashahr, East: Core B was taken on the Kiashahr Spit in thevicinity of the lagoon (Fig. 3K). The most prominent layers are ashell layer at 4.2 m depth and peat lamination at 4.4 m depth thatshow beach face and lagoonal environments, respectively (Fig. 7B).Change in grain size is coupled with changes in total organic contentand changes in carbonate content and largely depends on the contentof shell and shell fragments in the sediments. It seems that the coringsite has been occupied several times by the sea and by a lagoon.

Kiashahr, West: The coring location is on an old beach ridge in thetown of Kiashahr and behind the lagoon (Fig. 3K). Core C shows bothmarine and fluviodeltaic deposits (Fig. 7C). Two shell layers occur atthe 0.9 and 2.8 m depths containing articulated C. lamarcki, an indica-tion of marine deposits. Sand is the main fraction of the sediment thatchanges rarely in the sediment column (Fig. 7C). In some horizons,heavy mineral concentration and shell debris occur; they could berelated mainly to storm conditions that disturbed the bed and con-centrated the coarser/heavier particles in the horizons.

Anzali: The main difference between the Anzali sedimentarysuccession and the previously mentioned cores is the presence ofmuch coarser materials in the Anzali record. The base of the outcrop(Fig. 7D) is composed of shell-rich gray coarse sand with poorlylayering towards the NNE. Kazancı et al. (2004) suggest that thegray color of the sediments is related to igneous sourced sedimentsof the Sefidrud River as they found volcanic shard, rock fragment,feldspar, pumice, quartz and heavy minerals in the sediments. They

believed that the sediments transported to the west by coastal littoraldrifts. This suggestion is in contradiction with the assumption ofLahijani et al. (2009) that is based on an eastward littoral drift andthe consequent Anzali Spit enlargement.

Well-rounded gravels with maximum diameter of 10 cm, coarsesand, shells and shell fragments correspond to a high energy coastalenvironment (Angulo et al., 2009), as observed at depths of 3.5 mand 1.7 m in the Anzali outcrop.

Fossiliferous sandy layers that show a fining-upward texture andsub-horizontal internal layering cover the gravelly sand units indepths of 2.8 m and 1.4 m, respectively (Fig. 7D).

4.2.2. Radiometric datingAs shown in Table 1, all the ages fall between 1311 and 1726 AD

(calibrated 14C age data), which is coincident with the Little Ice Age(LIA) in the North Atlantic Ocean and already recorded in the CaspianSea by a highstand (Leroy et al., 2011).

The radiocarbon date of Anten-10, at the depth of 3.9 m fromKiashahr Spit is in good agreement with the previously publisheddata (Lahijani et al., 2009; Leroy et al., 2011) and shows that theKiashahr Lagoon is younger than Amirkola Lagoon, based on thescenario of Sefidrud avulsion in 1600 AD (Lahijani et al., 2009).

The Kiagab-05 (Fig. 7C) and Sang-N-07 (Fig. 7D) with ages of1408–1514 AD and 1441–1547 AD, and at respective depths of2.75 m and 1.5 m, could be related to the results of Kakroodi et al.

Fig. 8. Identified radar facies in the measured GPR profiles in central Guilan. The facies are indicated as bold lines in the interpreted image column; A: Windblown sediments;B: Beach ridge; C: Beach-face; D: Wash-over deposits; E: Lagoon deposits; F: Fluviodeltaic deposits.



(2012) in the eastern flank of the Caspian Sea where at all correspondto the Little Ice Age (LIA) highstand.

Omrani et al. (2007) found that the eastern flank of the CaspianSea experienced a highstand around 1344–1460 AD which is ingood agreement with our results from Sang-N-05 on the Anzali Spitwith the age of 1311–1445 AD. Although Omrani et al. (2007) andKakroodi et al. (2012) generally link their results to LIA highstand, itseems that these two ages could be related to two different eventsduring the LIA regarding to the stratigraphic position of the datedAnzali samples (Fig. 7D).

4.2.3. GPR measurementsDifferent GPR images showed various types of structures that

reveal spatial and vertical variability in subsurface properties. Themaximum penetration depth of the GPR signals varies in differentsections and generally is less than 5 m. The relatively low penetrationdepth is partially due to the high water table.

The first step in interpreting GPR profiles is recognition of radarfacies (Patidar et al., 2007). According to the measured GPR data inthe study area, six major radar facies could be recognized based onoutlined principles by Jol and Bristow (2003) and Neal (2004)

Fig. 9. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile of seaward segment of Anzali Spit. The upper image is the original profile and the lower is the interpreted profile. Bold lines in theinterpreted profile show the boundary of the radar packages and regular lines show the reflectors. Scale to the right of the profiles shows the depth in meters. A: Windblown sand;B: Beach ridge; C: Beach-face deposits; E: Lagoon deposits. Question mark shows the zone of attenuation due to proximity to the sea.

Fig. 10. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile of middle segment of Anzali Spit. The upper image is the original profile and the lower is the interpreted profile. Bold lines in theinterpreted profile show the boundary of the radar packages and regular lines show the reflectors. Dashed line shows the water table. Scale to the right of the profiles shows thedepth in meters. A: Windblown sand; B: Beach ridge; C: Beach-face deposits; D: Washover deposits; E: Lagoon deposits.



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(Fig. 8). Depending on the coastal setting, some of the radar facies, notall of them, could be identified in each GPR profile.

4.2.3.1. Anzali Spit. Considering the dense vegetation and urban areason Anzali Spit, three separate GPR profiles have been carried out tocover the whole width of the section. All the facies except Facies F(fluviodeltaic facies) could be identified in the Anzali profiles(Figs. 9–11) based on field observations and radar interpretation.

The seaward section of Anzali Spit is presented in Fig. 9 in whichthe Facies C composed of multiple planar to convex continuous reflec-tors, dips steeply with an angle of up to 15° towards the sea. Seawarddipping planar bedding is a diagnostic feature of beach-face sedi-ments (Lindhorst et al., 2008). The upper boundary of Facies C inFig. 9 is terminated by toplap termination. Toplap surface in coastalenvironments is because of sediment bypass and/or erosion whichcould be happened by wave action during sudden sea-level rise(Clemmensen and Nielsen, 2010) or river activity. According to thecoastal setting and sedimentological properties, it seems that the

wave action is more likely to be responsible for the formation ofthe toplap surface.

In the middle segment of GPR survey in Anzali Spit, the presenceof some shell fragments and marine fossils as well as sand andgravelly sands support the interpretation of Facies C as beach-facedeposits (Fig. 10). Facies D in Fig. 10 is composed mainly of discontin-uous, convex reflectors that are dipping landward. Landward-dippingreflectors are representative of washover processes (Clemmensenand Nielsen, 2010) that were developed on the backshore by severewave action. Parallel continuous undulated reflectors of the Facies Eare either concordant with or randomly downlap onto the lowerlimit.

The upper limit of Facies C shows evidences of truncation withtoplap termination of reflectors. The lower bounding surface of FaciesC is a clear horizontal line with a strongly attenuated radar signalbelow the surface, and can be interpreted as the water table (dashedline in Fig. 10).

There are two mound-shaped packages with complex internalstructures (Facies B) in the lagoonward GPR segment, that could be

Fig. 13. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile east of Kiashahr spit–lagoon complex (see Fig. 3K, transect “b”). The upper image is the original profile and the lower one is theinterpreted profile. Bold lines in the interpreted profile show the boundary of the radar packages and regular lines show the reflectors. Dashed line shows the water table. Scaleto the right of the profiles shows the depth in meters. A: Windblown sand; B: Beach ridge; C: Beach-face deposits; D: Washover deposits; F: Delta plain deposits.

Fig. 14. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile located on the Amirkola Spit (see Fig. 2L, transect “a”). The upper image is the original profile and the lower one is the interpretedprofile. Bold lines in the interpreted profile show the boundary of the radar packages and regular lines show the reflectors. Scale to the right of the profiles shows the depth in me-ters. F: Delta plain; A: Windblown sand.



considered as beach ridges (Otvos, 2000; Hesp et al., 2005) (Fig. 11).Both of the ridges lie on a main surface that the reflectors are sharplyattenuated downward and considered as the water table. The sea-ward ridge in this profile shows truncation surface at the top. Al-though the truncation surface could be caused by erosionalprocesses in fluvial and marine environments, it is interpreted as awave erosion surface due to the presence of beach-face deposits andabsence of fluvial sediments.

Lagoon deposits (Facies E) have been developed mainly betweenthe two ridges. The landward mound-shaped Facies B could be

interpreted as a lagoonal beach ridge with coarsening upwardtexture, based on field observations and the finding of some openlagoon fossils (Dreissena sp.) at the edge of the ridge. Sand beachridges may form during wave events on the shores of lagoons andin the landward half of a prograded barrier (Hesp et al., 2005).Depending on the hydrodynamic condition and source sediment,beach ridges may be composed of fine to coarse even gravelly sands(Otvos, 2000). According to the presence of coarser fragments in thesediments, they could be derived from within the spit core duringstorm conditions (Roep et al., 1998) and/or less likely from the rivers

Fig. 15. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profile located behind the Amirkola lagoon on the delta plain (see Fig. 2L, transect “b”). The frequency of the GPR antenna in this transectline was 50 MHz to detect deeper targets. The upper image is the original profile and the lower one is the interpreted profile. Bold lines in the interpreted profile show the boundaryof the radar packages and regular lines show the reflectors. Scale to the right of the profiles shows the depth in meters. F: Delta plain deposits; E: Lagoon deposits.

Fig. 16. Schematic block diagram showing the main modern sedimentary environments and outstanding geomorphological features in the central Guilan coast, South Caspian Sea.



flowing from the southern flank of Anzali Lagoon. Sefidrud Rivercannot be considered to have had a role here. During the LIA, AnzaliSpit broke into barriers with inlets (Leroy et al., 2011) as it hadmore connection to the sea and consequently the lagoon was moreinfluenced by hydrodynamic condition of the sea.

4.2.3.2. Kiashahr Spit. The GPR measurements in the Kiashahr spit–la-goon complex demonstrate three types of reflector patterns and twodistinctive bounding surfaces (Figs. 12 and 13).

The sigmoidal shape of Facies C comprises of parallel to sub-parallelreflectors with moderate to sharp angles towards the sea. Thesediments are composed of well-sorted medium-sized sands withsome patches of heavy mineral concentration; a composition that canbe observed in the analogous modern beach profile (Fig. 5). Thebeach-face (Facies C) as well as the beach ridge (Facies B) deposits aretruncated and covered by delta plain deposits. According to Kakroodiet al. (2012), during sea-level rise the coast is wave-dominated whileit is converted to a river-dominated coast during sea-level fall. Thetruncation surface could be related to such event. The concentration ofheavy minerals in the sediments supports the suggestion of stormcondition (Buynevich et al., 2004).

The fluviodeltaic sediments (Facies F) are indicated by strongreflection. These reflectors are characterized by broad lateral surfaceof slightly basinward dip, representing the upper deltaic surfaces(Stevens and Robinson, 2007). The delta sediments are typicallycomposed of the dark gray sand (Kazancı et al., 2004) containingheavy minerals up to 20% (Lahijani and Tavakoli, 2012).

4.2.3.3. Amirkola Spit. Two main facies including delta plain deposits(Facies F) and lagoonal deposits (Facies E) are revealed by GPRmeasurements in Amirkola (Figs. 14 and 15).

Fluviodeltaic sediments are the main component of Amirkola spitthat are covered by aeolian sediments (Fig. 13).

An infilled channel with lenticular shape is distinguishable in themiddle of Fig. 14. This facies is very similar to lagoonal facies (FaciesE) and can be related to old Sefidrud course. It seems that the olddelta plain has been covered by new deposits of subsequent riveravulsion.

5. Discussion

Three different coastal settings in central Guilan have beenstudied to recognize the effects of sea-level changes on spit–lagoonformation. The preservation of the spit–lagoon complexes is diagnosticof rapid sea-level rise where rapid inundation saves them from waveerosion (Kroonenberg et al., 2000). Although all the environmentsshow some evidence of sea-level changes, some differences in theircoastal evolution are apparent. The differences between the coastal

development may be partially related to coastline orientation, N–Sversus W–E, as already seen in the Santa Catarina coast of Brazil (Hespet al., 2009).

Based on coastline orientation, the Iranian Caspian coast incentral Guilan can be divided into two segments. Anzali and Kiashahrspit–lagoon complexes lie on an E–W oriented coastline while theAmirkola spit–lagoon complex is on the N–S oriented coast (Fig. 16).The change in coastline orientation is accompanied by differences inmorphological and sedimentological properties of the complexes. Thechange in orientation prevents longshore currents moving round tothe next coastline (Bird, 2008) and additionally beaches may beexposed to significantly different degrees of wind and wave power(Dillenburg et al., 2009) (Fig. 3). The South Caspian basin could bedivided into two districts based on wave regime (Terziev, 1992). Thewestern district, including the central Guilan, is characterized bydominance of north-northwest winds and concomitant waves. Inwinter, the frequency of northwest and west winds is increased. Theresulting waves cause an eastward coastal current with a maximumvelocity of 0.83 m/s and average velocity of 0.19 m/s based on datafromKiashahr shallowwater buoy during 2010–2011. Thewave regimein western part of the South Caspian Sea is relatively sedate (Terziev,1992). Therefore, the coastline orientation and the onshore bottommorphology have major role in defining the prevailing longshorecurrents and their energy in South Caspian Sea (Lahijani et al., 2009).

5.1. Coastal evolution of Amirkola and Kiashahr spit–lagoon complexes

The Sefidrud River also has a major role in developing the spit–lagoon complexes of Kiashahr and Amirkola (Kazancı et al., 2004;Lahijani et al., 2009). Four main steps of coastal evolution couldbe distinguished in eastern part of central Guilan (Fig. 17):

Step I The coast of Kiashahr was directly influenced by waves whilethe Amirkola coast was a river-dominated delta during theearly LIA. Comparing the subsurface morphology andlithofacies of Kiashahr and Amirkola, the Old Sefidrud Deltahad characteristics of an asymmetric delta (Weiguo et al.,2011). Before the river avulsion in the late LIA, the subsurfacemorphology and lithological properties of Kiashahr Spit showthe updrift side characteristics, including shoreface and beachridge deposits; while Amirkola was in the downdrift side andshows lagoon and delta plain deposits.

Step II About 1450–1550 AD (Table 1), sea level fell and new beachridge and beach face sediments were deposited in Kiashahr;while in Amirkola, the Old Sefidrud delta prograded into thesea.

Step III Around 1600 AD a sea-level rise occurred and the OldSefidrud River started to change its course from a region

Fig. 17. Coastal evolution of eastern part of the central Guilan: Column 1 shows the sea-level changes since 1311 AD based on simplified diagram of Rychagov (1997) and radio-metric and subsurface results of this study. Column 2 illustrates different steps of the Kiashahr coastal evolution based on GPR image (Fig. 12). Column 4 presents the evolution ofSefidrud River based on Amirkola GPR images (Fig. 15) and column 3 is the conceptual model of coastal evolution of the eastern part of central Guilan based on the results of thisstudy. B: Beach ridge; C: Beach-face; F: Fluviodeltaic deposits; E: Lagoon deposits; I, II, III, and IV are different steps of the eastern part of central Guilan coastal evolution.

Fig. 18. Reconstruction of main geomorphological units of the Anzali Spit based on three measured GPR measurements across the spit.



near Amirkola to its present position in Kiashahr (Lahijani etal., 2009). By shifting the Old Sefidrud River to the west, itsfluviodeltaic deposits were covered by new deposits of theriver. Amirkola Lagoon came into existence as a result ofsea-level rise but at this time it was an open lagoon due tofinding open lagoon bivalves, the internal organic linings offoraminifera and dinoflagellate cysts (Leroy et al., 2011).The avulsion could be compared with changing in the KuraRiver course during the Little Ice Age, which was recordedpreviously by Hoogendoorn et al. (2005) in the CaspianSea. Sea level fluctuation strongly controls the avulsionprocesses. River avulsion frequency is increased during aperiod of rapid sea-level rise due to changing base leveland increasing sedimentation rate through the river course(Makaske, 2001).Before the Old Sefidrud avulsion, the last beach-face and beachridge deposits of Kiashahr coast were submerged and truncat-ed bywave action and then covered byfluviodeltaic sedimentsof the Sefidrud River.

Step IV The new delta prograded and its fluviodeltaic sedimentscovered the older deposits in Kiashahr; while the Old Sefidruddelta sediments were eroded and deposited close to theAmirkola open lagoon. Finally the lagoon was closed by thedeposits. During the AD 1880 sea-level rise (Fig. 3), KiashahrLagoon emerged and during the last sea-level fall was almostclosed by river deposits transported by long-shore currents(see Kousari, 1986).

The lack of coarse-grained materials in beach sediments ofKiashahr and Amirkola is related to the nature of sediment supplyof the Sefidrud River. Wave action tends towards separating sandfrom silt and clay (Bird, 2008) and consequently longshore currentstransport the deposited materials along the N–S flank of the SefidrudDelta. Heavy minerals are more likely to have been deposited inKiashahr, near the river mouth due to their grain density (Blacket al., 2007). In storm conditions, the wave action promotes heavymineral concentration further towards the south as well as foreshoreand backshore.

5.2. Coastal evolution of Anzali spit–lagoon complex

The Anzali spit–lagoon complex is located in the westernmost partof the study area, out of the delta territory where wave action issignificant and the coast is closer to the hinterland (Fig. 3). In anycoastal setting, variations in sediment composition, morphology ofthe coasts and slope control coastal response to the sea-level fluctua-tions (Kaplin and Selivanov, 1995). The presence of shoreface faciesassociations in Anzali shows that the sedimentary structures weregenerated by storm and fair-weather wave processes (Hampson,2000) that are supported by coarse-grained components of thedeposits as the representative of a wave-dominated environment(Pascucci et al., 2008).

The GPR image of the Anzali Spit revealed several episodes ofregression and transgression since the LIA (Fig. 18) which werepreserved due to rapid sea-level changes. Widening of Anzali Spithas been largely caused by the accretion of high amounts of beachmaterials and formation of the beach ridges on the seaward side ofthe spit. The beach ridges were formed due to coupled action ofsea-level fluctuation and storms (Storms and Kroonenberg, 2007).Small lagoon environments were developed mainly between theridges as a consequence of rapid sea-level rise (Kroonenberg et al.,2007; Lahijani et al., 2009); while Anzali Lagoon was formed mainlydue to progradation of the spit (Fig. 16). During the transgressivestages, the beach ridges were truncated by wave action and couldbe indicated by toplap terminations in the GPR images (Figs. 9–11).

The progradation of the spit could be related to high amounts ofsediment supply, due to the proximity of the coastline to the foot ofthe Alborz Mountains and high precipitation of the area during theLIA (Leroy et al., 2011) that accelerated erosional processes.

The steep slope of the gravelly layers in Anzali outcrop indicatesthe domination of high-energy conditions in the southwesternCaspian Sea. High-energy conditions during the LIA have beenreported by some researchers for the French Mediterranean coast(Dezileau et al., 2011), and for the Caspian Sea (Lahijani et al.,2009). The old sediments are composed of coarser-grained materialssuch as cobble size components that might be provided by streamsflowing from the northern flank of the Alborz Mountains. In addition,the steeply dipping reflections of the GPR measurements indicateprogradation of the depositional system into relatively deep water(Clemmensen and Nielsen, 2010). At present, the onshore gradientof the Anzali region does not permit the formation of such steeplydipping strata which could be related to the position of the sea levelas well as human effects in terms of the exploitation of waterresources and building coastal structures along the coast. The direc-tion of Anzali Spit progradation is NNE, which is not perpendicularto the shoreline. This declination could be interpreted based on theapproaching angle of the waves and the consequent strong littoraldrifts that transport the materials in an eastward direction.

One of the key factors in shaping the Caspian coasts is stormaction, which was reported by Kroonenberg et al. (2000) in Kuralicoast in Daghestan. The presence of sheeted patches of sand on themodern backshore, heavy mineral concentration in some horizonsand landward reflectors in GPR studies could be related to stormwave action and significant washover deposits. These washoverdeposits play an important role in landward development of barriers(Orford et al., 1991; Kroonenberg et al., 2007) and especially areimportant in the Anzali Spit development in the studied area.

Kazancı et al. (2004) called the Anzali Lagoon as Anzali Lakebecause they believed that the so-called lake formed due to dam-ming and receiving the freshwater from fifteen discharging streamsaround it. However, our GPR measurements show that the waterbody is a part of spit–lagoon complex (Fig. 18). Anzali Spit has devel-oped towards the land by washover deposits and aeolian sands. Onthe other hand, Anzali Lagoon also had a noteworthy role in shapingthe lagoonward coast by eroding the spit core during storm condi-tions and developing lagoonal beach ridges that are sizably smallerthan the seaward beach ridges. The size of a ridge depends on wavecondition and local lake level, including wind-induced setup(Otvos, 2000).

6. Conclusions

Three spit–lagoon complexes have been studied in central Guilanalong the South Caspian coast. Although previous studies showevidence of a highstand during the LIA in the Caspian Sea, our find-ings show a more complex highstand situation during the LIA incentral Guilan. These fluctuations had different consequences inspit–lagoon formation depending on coastal setting. Although it isbelieved that sea-level change is the main driver for the spit–lagoonformation, other environmental changes such as the increasing fre-quency of storms, increasing sediment supply due to more precipita-tion and river avulsion (which was triggered by sea-level changes)were determinant in spit–lagoon development. In central Guilan, themain effect of the sea-level changes on the eastern half of the coast isthe avulsion of the Sefidrud River and development of sand spitswhile in the western half of the coast the formation of successive ridgesand spit–lagoon development are prominent consequences. Therefore,different mechanisms have been responsible for development of thelandforms in central Guilan during the Little Ice Age and more recentsea-level fluctuations.



Acknowledgments

This study has been conducted in the framework of “Investigation ofthe Holocene sediment along the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea:central Guilan” project which is funded by the Iranian National Institutefor Oceanography (INIO). Moreover, this study has been supported bythe Iranian Centre for International Scientific Studies and Collaboration(CISSC), Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran and theFrench counterpart Campus France in the framework of the Franco–Iranian Gundishapour Program. The authors are thankful to Prof. C.Morhange from Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement desGéosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE) for his help in radiocarbondating and especially are thankful for Hossein Bagheri and other INIOpersonnel, who helped us during the field campaigns.

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