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The influence of the Evros River on the recent sedimentation of the inner shelf of the NE Aegean Sea

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The transboundary Evros River discharges into the Alexandroupolis Gulf, located in the inner shelf of the northeastern Aegean Sea, where it has formed an extended delta. Grain-size and mineralogical analyses of five sediment cores, collected in the subaqueous delta, provide the following information about recent sedimentation processes in the northeastern part of the Aegean shelf: (a) river mouth deposits, consisting of coarse-grained sediments, are mainly deposited in front of the active mouth, whilst some sandy material is expected to be transported alongshore by nearshore currents; (b) delta front deposits are characterised by fine-grained sediments that include evidence of human activities which have taken place, in a more intense way, since the 1950s; and (c) prodelta deposits are represented by almost uniform riverine mud that cover the pre-existed relict sands of the shelf, indicating also the limit (some 15 km to the SW) of the influence of riverine sedimentation on the seabed of the inner shelf of the Alexandroupolis Gulf.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Captain and the crew of “R.V. Aegaeo”, as well as Mrs M. Taxiarchi, Mr A. Papageorgiou and Mrs G. Kabouri (BioGeoChemical Laboratory of Hellenic Centre for Marine Research) for laboratory assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, Anavyssos, P.O. Box 712, 19013, Attica, Greece

    Theodore D. Kanellopoulos, Vasilios Kapsimalis & Aristomenis P. Karageorgis

  2. Faculty of Geology & Geoenvironment, Department of Geography & Climatology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupoli, Zografou, 15784, Athens, Greece

    Serafim E. Poulos

  3. Department of Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, Lofos Panepistimiou, 81100, Mytilene, Greece

    Michael O. Angelidis

  4. Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, 70 El. Venizelou str, 15671, Athens, Greece

    Kosmas Pavlopoulos

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  1. Theodore D. Kanellopoulos
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  2. Vasilios Kapsimalis
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  3. Serafim E. Poulos
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  4. Michael O. Angelidis
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  5. Aristomenis P. Karageorgis
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  6. Kosmas Pavlopoulos
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Correspondence to Theodore D. Kanellopoulos.

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Kanellopoulos, T.D., Kapsimalis, V., Poulos, S.E. et al. The influence of the Evros River on the recent sedimentation of the inner shelf of the NE Aegean Sea. Environ Geol 53, 1455–1464 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0754-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0754-2

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