Warta Geologi, Vol. 50, No. 2, August 2024, pp. 53–61
Parisa Nimnate1,2*, Sukanya Suriyan1 and Sasiyanan Wongcharoen1
1 Division of Geoscience, Mahidol University, Kanchanaburi Campus, Kanchanaburi 71150, Thailand
2 Center of Excellence for the Morphology of Earth Surface and Advanced Geohazards in Southeast Asia (MESA CE), Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
* Corresponding author email address: parisa.nim@mahidol.edu
Abstract: Archaeological findings and analysis of the sand beach at the Ban Khu Bua site in western Thailand indicate substantial sea-level shifts, which relate to sea-level regression during the late Holocene. This research focused on analyzing the paleo-shoreline and determining the age of ancient sandy beach deposits. Satellite imagery (Sentinel-2A) taken in 2021 facilitated classification of the paleo-coastal landforms into four main categories: colluvium, recent floodplain, old tidal flat, and old sandy beach. The latter, running predominantly north to south, is composed of fine to very fine sand characterized by sub-angular to round shapes, high sphericity, and well sorted. The sediment’s mineral composition is primarily quartz, accompanied by smaller rock fragments, organic matter, heavy minerals, and feldspars. Optically Stimulated Luminescence analysis of quartz-rich samples from the inner and outer areas suggested deposition of the old sandy beach sediments between 1,500 and 3,000 years ago in the inner part, pre-dating the establishment of the Khu Bua community in the Dvaravati period. Continuous beach sand deposition along Thao U-Thong Road aligns with the community settlement approximately 200 to 1,000 years ago.
Keywords: Old sandy beach, OSL dating, sea-level change, Khu Bua, Ratchaburi
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Manuscript received 13 February 2024;
Received in revised form 10 May 2024;
Accepted 16 June 2024
Available online 30 August 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7186/wg502202401
0126-5539; 2682-7549 / Published by the Geological Society of Malaysia.
© 2024 by the Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License 4.0
