Evolution of Quaternary Sediments Along the Coast Between Vedaranyam and Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu

Quaternary landforms between Vedaranyam and Rameshwaram on the east coast of India show a wide range from inland sand dune, flood plain, estuary, delta, cusp, beach, coastal dune, barrier ridge, mud flat, tidal creek to mangrove. The study area has been classified into inland, beach and offshore regions to evaluate the variation in the distribution of grain size and the depositional environments. 147 sediment samples were collected using hand augur along the beach (53) and inland (37) environments, and by Van Veen grab in the offshore area (57). Grain size analysis indicates that the area may have extended approximately 25 km towards inland from the present-day low water mark. In those days, the coast must have developed by almost similar processes as acting at present in the nearshore environment, and the sea level oscillation may have been significant in the past. Further, based on the present day rate of sedimentation, it is suggested that the study area may have developed within the last 1,50,000 years B.P.