Novel insights into the sea level evolution along the coast of Bozburun Peninsula (Turkey): A study on submerged Bronze Age harbor in Çamçalık

Abstract

A recent discovery of a Bronze Age harbor site in Çamçalık provides new data for the relative sea level history along the coast of the Bozburun Peninsula over the last 3600 years. In this study, we compared the new and previously published data from nearby sites to determine the long-term relative sea level changes. Further comparison of the observed sea level data and newly produced glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models clarified the tectonic contribution to the relative sea level changes. Our results suggest a nonlinear tectonic subsidence trend in the coastal zone since 3600 B.P. The increase in the relative sea level accelerated over the last 1400 years, mostly due to the seismic events controlled by the tectonic regime of the southeastern Aegean Sea. We can conclude that, as in the past, this active tectonic process will have a major impact on the future sea level evolution of the coastal sector of the Bozburun Peninsula. Notably, our study can be used to understand the historical trend of sea level rise while providing a foundation for future trend prediction.