Architecture stratigraphique, sédimentologie et structure du Canal de Corinthe (Grèce)

The man-made Corinth Canal connects the Aegean Sea with the Corinth Gulf while displaying high steep walls allowing to study the sedimentological structure of this canal. This canal is supposed to be the former strait which connected the gulf with the Aegean Sea. Therefore, the canal could be used as analogue to study tidal straits once its stratigraphic architecture, sedimentology and structure are defined. To do so, we used field observations associated with a 3D model done by drone imaging. With these data we observed a central horst, located at the central part of the canal and an associated graben called Isthmia. The top and NW parts of the canal section consist of a min. 20 m thick unit of conglomeratic tidal dune bedded deposits. These deposits are evidenced by the presence of asymmetrical herringbones, tidal dune bedded features and cross-stratification. These deposits may then totally propose a new paleostratigraphic interpretation for the Corinth Canal but also complete the “classical” tidal strait depositional model. In the regional context, such deposits confirm the probable connection between the Aegean Sean and the Corinth Gulf at ~300 ka. This connection faded due to the regional uplift and the activation of the major Kalamaki-Isthmia fault