Luminescence dating a tool to interrogate multi-scale coastal landscape response, Cape south coast, South Africa.

南非海岸是新近纪和更新世海平面研究的关键区域（Hearty et al. 2020）。沿着西开普省和东开普省，厚厚的胶结海岸沉积物（沙丘和近岸沉积物）序列形成了气候和景观变化的档案，并保存了大量的痕迹化石（Helm et al., 2020）和人类占领的证据（Helm et al., 2018）。该项目将在两个尺度上审视这些沿海沉积档案：1。陆上沙丘和海岸线就位的长期时间大致相当于间冰期海平面的高水平（Bateman et al., 2011），而大陆架上海岸沙丘的形成则发生在低洼期（Cawthra et al. 2018）。然而，沿岸地层记录的变化是由（继承的）沉积物供应和近海地形的相互作用传递的（Carr等人，2019），我们预测存在更复杂的情况，特别是在沿海大陆架较窄的地区。这是令人兴奋的，因为它提供了一个范围，通过高密度的地质年代学采样，密切配合有针对性的地球物理调查，深入研究更广泛的沿海景观演变问题。今天，由于海平面上升和相对较软的更新世海岸沉积物，部分海岸线正在迅速侵蚀。这是在沿海迅速发展的情况下发生的。该项目将研究发光岩石表面测年方法的潜力，以估计海岸悬崖侵蚀的时间和速率，并测试从悬崖和海岸平台上确定大块位移的潜力；后者包括潜在的风暴潮和海啸沉积物（例如Brill et al., 2021）。表面暴露发光测年方法的潜力仍在实现中，但这种方法-在富含具有合适发光特性的石英的地区-可能为短期沿海景观变化提供全新的见解，并有助于更好地定义区域沿海灾害。该项目将主要采用发光测年方法，结合其他测量技术，在多个时空尺度上询问沿海景观过程。该学生将与来自南非地球科学委员会的研究人员合作，在莱斯特大学专注于开发新的发光测年年表。

The South African coast is a key region for Neogene and Pleistocene sea level studies (Hearty et al. 2020). Along the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, thick sequences of cemented coastal deposits (dunes and near-shore deposits) form an archive of climatic and landscape change, as well as preserving numerous trace fossils (Helm et al., 2020) and evidence of human occupation (Helm et al., 2018). This project will interrogate these coastal sedimentary archives at two scales:1. The long-term timing of onshore dune and shoreline emplacement broadly equates to high interglacial sea-levels (Bateman et al., 2011), with coastal dune formation on the continental shelf during low-stands (Cawthra et al 2018). However, variability in the peri-coastal stratigraphic record is imparted by the interplay of (inherited) sediment supply and offshore topography (Carr et al., 2019) and we predict more complex scenarios exist, particularly in areas with a narrower coastal shelf. This is exciting as it offers scope to drill into far broader questions of diverse coastal landscape evolution(s) via, high-density geochronological sampling closely accompanied by targeted geophysical surveying.2. Today parts of the coastline are rapidly eroding due to sea level rise and relatively soft Pleistocene coastal sediments. This occurs in the face of burgeoning coastal development. This project will investigate the potential of luminescence rock surface dating methods to estimate the timing and rates coastal cliff erosion and to test the potential to date the displacement of large blocks from cliffs and shore platforms; the latter include potential storm surge and tsunami deposits (e.g. Brill et al., 2021). The potential of surface exposure luminescence dating methods is still being realised, but this approach - in a region rich in quartz with suitable luminescence properties - may offer entirely new insights into shorter-term coastal landscape change, and contribute to better-defining regional coastal hazards. This project will primarily employ luminescence dating methods, in conjunction with other surveying techniques, to interrogate coastal landscape processes over multiple spatial-temporal scales. The student will focus on the development of the new luminescence dating chronologies at Leicester, in collaboration with researchers from the Council for Geoscience, South Africa.