Aeolianite, also known as aeolian calcarenite or dune limestone , is a calcareous dune sand that has been cemented or lithified by percolating rainwater. Large quantities of calcareous sand, composed predominantly of calcium carbonate (90%+) in the form of broken and comminuted shell debris, accumulated at various heights along parts of the Australian coast, for example, as relative sea level changed during Quaternary times (includes Pleistocene and Holocene or Recent epochs) in response to glacial-interglacial periods. Fairbridge (1967) believes that these aeolianites may be associated with pluvial phases of the Quaternary that resulted in the calcareous sands being rapidly cemented by percolating rainwater.
Many such aeolianites now form prominent coastal/offshore reefs, shore platforms, and cliffs that may be as high as 60 m. In Australia, aeolianites are particularly prominent along the southern coast, which is exposed to Southern Ocean swell. In contrast, on the east coast of the...
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References
Fairbridge, R. W., 1967. Coral reefs of the Australian region, in J. N. Jennings and J. A. Mabbutt, eds., Landform Studies from Australia and New Guinea. New York: Cambridge University Press, 386–417.
Gill, E. D., 1967. Evolution of the Warrnambool-Port Fairy Coast, and the Tower Hill eruption, western Victoria, in J. N. Jennings and J. A. Mabbutt, eds., Landform Studies from Australia and New Guinea. New York: Cambridge University Press, 340–364.
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Hails, J.R. (1982). Aeolianite . In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_3
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