On the occurrence of a pumice-rich layer in Holocene deposits of western Peloponnesus, Ionian Sea, Greece. A geomorphological and geochemical approach

Abstract

A single, pumice-rich sandy horizon located in Holocene deposits of western Peloponnesus, Ionian Sea, Greece has been newly detected in a littoral belt 250 m wide and more than 3km long. Pumice fragments are hosted in siliceous-cherty sand that overlies coarser clastic sediments, and occur in varying sizes. The geomorphology of the area and the development of two dune systems played an important role in the entrapment of the pumice fragments. These were transported there by the wind and marine currents, rather than by a tsunami event. The chemistry of the pumice fragments is constistent throughout the deposit. Major and trace element analysis of the pumice suggests an origin in the south Aegean Volcanic Arc, rather than in southern Italy and surroundings. The age of this deposition is thought to be younger than 4,000 years before present.