Features of Subaerial Sedimentation in Holocene Sediments of the Sea of Azov

The level of the Sea of Azov changed repeatedly during the Holocene. In recent years, the staff of the Southern Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, have sampled more than 200 bottom cores in various parts of the water area; 24 boreholes have been drilled in the coastal zone. Therefore, new data on the Holocene bottom sediments were obtained. The particle size distribution of sediments varies by seabed area from clayey silts to sands and gravels. A significant amount of organic remains, inclusions of hydrotroilite, and a specific odor of hydrogen sulfide are important features of the bottom and coastal sediments in the sections studied. In the Sea of Azov, such sediments occur both on the seabed surface and on the underlying horizons. In the coastal zone, they are exposed in the sections of boreholes below the modern sea level and are dated as the New and Ancient Azov. These sediments are interpreted as indicators of the shallow sedimentation settings.