Geological-lithological structure of limans as a key to decoding Late Neoeuxinian and Holocene history of the Black Sea

Abstract

The Black Sea (Prichernomorian) limans are unique geographical and geological features. The study of the geological structure of liman deposits can aid in unraveling some of the pages of the geological history of the Black Sea basin during Late Neoeuxinian and Holocene. The uniqueness of limans consists of the following: 1)the thickness of Neoeuxinian and Holocene deposits greatly exceeds their thickness on the shelf, continental slope,and the deep sea(where it reaches in the some cases 10-25 m);2) the lithological structure of deposits is rather diverse; based on lithological composition, the deposits are clearly stratified;3)the majjor faunal complexes range from freshwater up to stenohaline,and 4)limans belong to the first belt of avalanche sedimentation and represent a zone of a geochemical barrier.There is an extensive bibliography about various aspects of geology of the Black Sea limans (Shnyukov, 1984).The analysis of the literature and our data provide the basis for summarizing the paleogeography of limans and for reconstruction of sea-level changes of the Black Sea during Late Neoeuxinian and Holocene.