Proposed Marine Low-stand Depocenter as a Contributor to the Development of the Namib Sand Sea or Namib Pleistocene Coastal Dune Sheet, Namibia

Research identifies two mid-shelf paleo-headlands—one extending 28 km offshore and another 14 km—as potential contributors to the formation of the Namib Sand Sea and smaller dune complexes along Namibia's coast. These submerged features, corresponding to areas of localized sand entrapment during Pleistocene marine low-stands, may have facilitated across-shelf sand transport via eolian and wave processes. The study analyzed 31 transects to test regional factors like shelf width, coastline orientation, and elevation, but found no direct correlation with the dune complexes. Instead, it proposes that these paleo-headlands, combined with alongshore sand supply from deflation corridors, created a low-stand depocenter that likely influenced dune sheet development. This finding offers new insights into the geological processes shaping coastal dune systems.

Peterson, C. D. (2025). Proposed Marine Low-stand Depocenter as a Contributor to the Development of the Namib Sand Sea or Namib Pleistocene Coastal Dune Sheet, Namibia. Journal of Geography and Geology, 17(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.5539/jgg.v17n2p1