ABSTRACT
Shorelines are isochronous surfaces formed at the interface between land, atmosphere and ocean or lake. They represent morphostratigraphic units that can, in a displaced form, be used to determine mass transfer of water or crust with a resolution determined by the rate of displacement. Because such mass transfers are environmentally controlled, a relationship can exist between specific shoreline types and climatic events. Morphostratigraphic methods Elevation is the main morphological criterion for separating different shorelines according to age, and because a relative rise of sea level leads to burial of existing shorelines, this relationship applies primarily to regressive sequences and is the basis of the staircase constraint. Heighting Raised shoreline heights can be determined quickly and by a single person with an aneroid barometer or a hand-held level such as an Abney but, with the exception of use in reconnaisance or general studies in areas with a wide range of shoreline displacement, these implements create more problems than they solve.
