Reconstruction of paleoenvironment in the Bay of Koper (Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic)

Five boreholes drilled in the inner part of the Bay of Koper (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic) were used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the Bay in the Holocene. These changes are clearly related to the global changes of sea level. The cross-section of the Holocene sediment in the Bay indicates that the early Holocene -late Glacial sediment, dated to about 10-11000 years BP, occurred in the southern part of the Bay when the sea started to enter the Rizana valley. When the southern part of the valley was submerged, the eastern part was still influenced by the Rizana fluvial deposits. Marine sedimentation prevailed over fluvial sedimentation at depth of 26 m during the most intensive sea transgression. Boreholes studied also indicate simultaneous sea level rise and sedimentation process in the Bay during the Holocene. These data are in accordance with the general of sea level rise in the northern Adriatic in Holocene.