A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history
Abstract Sea level reconstructions in the Black Sea basin and elsewhere rely on the identification of sea level markers and on the understanding of their post-genetic vertical movements. We present here evidence of a fast, bi-directional vertical displacement on the western Black Sea shore at Mangal...
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SpringerOpen
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Geoscience Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-025-00402-9 |
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| author | Virgil Drăguşin Nicolaie Alexandru Mihai Caminschi Florina Chitea Vasile Ersek Alina Floroiu Liviu Giosan Georgiana Alexandra Grigore Diana Hanganu Maria Ilie Dumitru Ioane Cristian Mănăilescu Marius Mocuţa Adrian Iulian Pantia Alexandru Răzvan Petre Iulian Popa Gabriela Sava Tiberiu Sava Răsvan Stochici Constantin Ungureanu |
| author_facet | Virgil Drăguşin Nicolaie Alexandru Mihai Caminschi Florina Chitea Vasile Ersek Alina Floroiu Liviu Giosan Georgiana Alexandra Grigore Diana Hanganu Maria Ilie Dumitru Ioane Cristian Mănăilescu Marius Mocuţa Adrian Iulian Pantia Alexandru Răzvan Petre Iulian Popa Gabriela Sava Tiberiu Sava Răsvan Stochici Constantin Ungureanu |
| author_sort | Virgil Drăguşin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Sea level reconstructions in the Black Sea basin and elsewhere rely on the identification of sea level markers and on the understanding of their post-genetic vertical movements. We present here evidence of a fast, bi-directional vertical displacement on the western Black Sea shore at Mangalia, Romania. We argue that an area situated near the shoreline was submerged 4 m, subsequently filled with marine silts and sands, then uplifted by 10 m, where it currently stands. Radiocarbon dating of several types of materials from the infill, as well as archaeological evidence, indicate that this displacement occurred during the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. Mollusc shells found in anatomical connection close to the top of the sediment sequence have a 14C reservoir age offset of ~ 900 years, probably due to the hard water effect. This is much larger than the ~ 400 year offset that is generally considered for the Black Sea and highlights the problematic dating of Black Sea coastal sediments. The findings of this study offer strong evidence of short-term, local tectonic movements that should be considered when past sea levels are calculated, while at the same time serve a warning for urban and marine development planners. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a223258be45404bbed9106493eea7be |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2196-4092 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoscience Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a223258be45404bbed9106493eea7be2025-08-20T03:03:37ZengSpringerOpenGeoscience Letters2196-40922025-07-0112111110.1186/s40562-025-00402-9A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern historyVirgil Drăguşin0Nicolaie Alexandru1Mihai Caminschi2Florina Chitea3Vasile Ersek4Alina Floroiu5Liviu Giosan6Georgiana Alexandra Grigore7Diana Hanganu8Maria Ilie9Dumitru Ioane10Cristian Mănăilescu11Marius Mocuţa12Adrian Iulian Pantia13Alexandru Răzvan Petre14Iulian Popa15Gabriela Sava16Tiberiu Sava17Răsvan Stochici18Constantin Ungureanu19Emil Racoviță Institute of Speleology, Romanian AcademyCallatis Archaeology MuseumEmil Racoviță Institute of Speleology, Romanian AcademyFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria UniversityFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestReasearch Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of BucharestReasearch Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of BucharestReasearch Institute of the University of Bucharest, University of BucharestHoria Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear EngineeringFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestHoria Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear EngineeringFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestGeological Institute of RomaniaHoria Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear EngineeringFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestHoria Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear EngineeringHoria Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear EngineeringSabba S. Ștefănescu Institute of Geodynamics, Romanian AcademyFaculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of BucharestAbstract Sea level reconstructions in the Black Sea basin and elsewhere rely on the identification of sea level markers and on the understanding of their post-genetic vertical movements. We present here evidence of a fast, bi-directional vertical displacement on the western Black Sea shore at Mangalia, Romania. We argue that an area situated near the shoreline was submerged 4 m, subsequently filled with marine silts and sands, then uplifted by 10 m, where it currently stands. Radiocarbon dating of several types of materials from the infill, as well as archaeological evidence, indicate that this displacement occurred during the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. Mollusc shells found in anatomical connection close to the top of the sediment sequence have a 14C reservoir age offset of ~ 900 years, probably due to the hard water effect. This is much larger than the ~ 400 year offset that is generally considered for the Black Sea and highlights the problematic dating of Black Sea coastal sediments. The findings of this study offer strong evidence of short-term, local tectonic movements that should be considered when past sea levels are calculated, while at the same time serve a warning for urban and marine development planners.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-025-00402-9Black SeaReservoir ageIntraplate tectonicsNeotectonics |
| spellingShingle | Virgil Drăguşin Nicolaie Alexandru Mihai Caminschi Florina Chitea Vasile Ersek Alina Floroiu Liviu Giosan Georgiana Alexandra Grigore Diana Hanganu Maria Ilie Dumitru Ioane Cristian Mănăilescu Marius Mocuţa Adrian Iulian Pantia Alexandru Răzvan Petre Iulian Popa Gabriela Sava Tiberiu Sava Răsvan Stochici Constantin Ungureanu A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history Geoscience Letters Black Sea Reservoir age Intraplate tectonics Neotectonics |
| title | A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history |
| title_full | A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history |
| title_fullStr | A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history |
| title_full_unstemmed | A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history |
| title_short | A 10-m vertical displacement on the Romanian Black Sea coast during modern history |
| title_sort | 10 m vertical displacement on the romanian black sea coast during modern history |
| topic | Black Sea Reservoir age Intraplate tectonics Neotectonics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-025-00402-9 |
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