Submerged HoloceneWave-Cut Cliffs in the South-eastern Part of the Baltic Sea: Reinterpretation Based on Recent Bathymetrical Data - The Baltic Sea Basin - page 212

the steep wave-cut cliffs in the area of Cape Taran, where the lines were moved
upwards from the overlying wave-cut platform edges. Thus, the fossil coast levels
as presented in this work are located between the levels defined by the wave-cut
platform surface depths (Blazhchishin et al. 1982 ) .
We identified nine axial lines of wave-cut cliffs with average depths of 21, 29,
38, 48, 53, 62, 68, 76, and 88 m (Fig. 10.3 ) . Shallow levels of 15 m and less were
not charted. The resolution of our method is too low to be applied to the high-energy
coastal zone, where the relic topography is masked by modern lithodynamics. The
highest (coastal) level (3-0 m) was therefore beyond the area of study.
Due to the scarcity of initial bathymetric data in certain areas of the bottom, not
all coast levels could be laid out. Insufficient spatial resolution forced us to merge
the coastlines which are then indicated as polygenic. An example of the polygenic
wave-cut cliff and platform is shown in Fig. 10.4 , with the cliff occurring at 25-40 m
and the adjacent wave-cut platform constituting a seafloor segment between 3,000
and 7,000 m on the horizontal scale. The structures were initially tectonic in ori-
gin, with their subsequent evolution being affected by wave-driven erosion during
Fig. 10.4 An example of polygenic cliffs north-west of Sambian Peninsula (echo-sounder profile
1inFig. 10.3 ) . Insets indicate abbreviations of the Baltic evolution stages; SD, structure-dependent
cliffs