Late Holocene coastal dynamics south of the Chanthaburi estuary, eastern Gulf of Thailand

Abstract

Beach ridges are depositional features that allow reconstruction of past sea-level variations, sediment dynamics, and storm activity. However, there are still very few systematic studies focusing on beach ridges available from the Gulf of Thailand. Along the east coast, satellite images provide evidence of beach ridges in the Chanthaburi Province, extending as far as 6 km inland, oriented parallel to the current coastline. These can be divided into a set of landward ridges (5.3–6.0 km inland) and seaward ridges (0.4–1.8 km inland) that are separated by an arm of the Chanthaburi estuary. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of 26 sand samples from 12 pits of ridge profiles suggests that the landward set of beach ridges formed ca. 3500 yr ago, while the seaward set of ridges formed between ca. 2100–1200 years ago, which also includes the modern active beach. It appears that the landward set of beach ridges developed during a period of relatively stable sea level followed by a rapid regression presently occupied by the arm of the Chanthaburi estuary. The seaward set of beach ridges apparently reflects a millennium of slowly retreating coastline until the modern beach ridge formed.