Stratigraphic architecture, sedimentology and structure of the Corinth Canal (Greece)

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.