Luminescence Dating of Beachrock in the Southeast Coast of India-Potential for Holocene Shoreline Reconstruction

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz grains extracted from beachrock on the southeast coast of India was attempted. Preliminary OSL ages of beachrock indicate that during the Late Holocene (3.6-2.1 ka) sea level along this coast was higher than at present. This observation is broadly consistent with the existing data based on radiocarbon dating of bioclasts in the beachrock, which suggests a higher sea stand during 4.3-2.3 ka. This study demonstrates the potential of optical luminescence dating of beachrock for refining sea-level chronology and shoreline evolution on the southeastern coast of India.