National and Kapodistrian University of Athens — 190 years, 1837–2027

A WebGIS · 2026

Beachrocks
of Earth

Explore beachrock sites worldwide and the natural cementation of coastal sediments. Compare their settings, cement mineralogy, reported formation processes, and dating methods through records linked to published research.

Sites mapped 384

Countries covered 50 countries

Web platform

Cite the interactive website and interface.

Evelpidou, N., Karkani, E., Saitis, G., Spyrou, E., & Liaskos, A. (2026). Beachrocks [Interactive WebGIS]. evelpidou.geo.nkua.cloud/beachrocks

Author affiliation
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Dataset

Cite the dataset that underpins this catalogue.

Evelpidou, N., Saitis, G., Karkani, A., & Spyrou, E. (2025). Global database of beachrock distribution (v.1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16408107

Supporting publication

Additional evidence for the 11 updated Sri Lankan records.

Nayanthara, P.G.N., Dassanayake, A.B.N., Nakashima, K., & Kawasaki, S. (2021). Distribution and cementation characteristics of beachrocks along southern, southwestern and western coast of Sri Lanka. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 6, 93–106. doi:10.1007/s43217-020-00036-1.

Licence & reuse

Terms for original platform content.

Except where third-party data, basemaps, imagery, logos, or source materials are separately credited, the original text, interface, visualisation design, and research outputs of this application are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0).

You may share and adapt this material provided that you give appropriate credit, link to the licence, and indicate whether changes were made. Third-party materials remain subject to their respective terms and licences.

Submit a beachrock occurrence or a correction supported by a scientific source. Use one row per occurrence and source. Describe location accuracy and retain the terminology used in the cited study.

Prepare your submission

Fill in the blank Data sheet in the XLSX workbook. The Field guide describes every column, its units and examples. You can also use the CSV with the same headers.

Leave unknown values blank. For a correction, include the existing id and explain the change in submission_notes.

Download XLSX Download CSV Send by email

Required fields

Field and column	Format and unit	What to provide
Site `site`	Text	Name of the beachrock occurrence or site.
Country `country`	Text	Country containing the submitted site. Contributions are not limited to the current geographic coverage.
Latitude `latitude`	WGS84 (degrees)	WGS84 decimal latitude. Use a minus sign south of the equator.
Longitude `longitude`	WGS84 (degrees)	WGS84 decimal longitude. Use a minus sign west of Greenwich.
Supporting source `reference`	Text	Traceable publication, DOI, report or source URL supporting this record. Include page or figure numbers where relevant.

Optional fields (20)

Field and column	Format and unit	What to provide
Existing record ID `id`	Whole number	For a correction, copy the ID of the existing map record. Leave blank for a new record.
Source record number `record_no`	Text	Identifier used in the source inventory, where available. This is separate from the website ID.
Locality `area`	Text	Island, region or locality containing the occurrence. This is a place name.
Ocean or sea `ocean_sea`	Text	Named ocean or sea adjoining the site.
Position accuracy `pos_type`	Text	Describe whether the position was measured or approximated from a source map or locality.
Maximum altitude `maximum_altitude`	Text	Reported upper elevation, including unit, datum and uncertainty.
Minimum altitude `minimum_altitude`	Text	Reported lower elevation, including unit, datum and uncertainty.
Number of slabs `no_of_slabs`	Whole number	Number of distinct slabs reported at the occurrence.
Tidal range `tidal_range`	Text	Reported tidal range, including unit and the tidal reference where stated.
Sediment composition `main_composition`	Text	Main sediment or clast composition reported by the source.
Cement mineralogy `cement_type`	Text	Reported cement mineralogy. Preserve the source terminology and explain abbreviations in submission_notes.
Cement microstructure `cement_microstructure`	Text	Reported cement texture or microstructure.
Formation process `formation_process`	Text	Formation process or mechanism reported by the cited study.
Formation environment `formation_location`	Text	Reported coastal or tidal zone of formation.
Water table `water_table`	Text	Reported water table position or behaviour, including units where relevant.
Dating method `dating_method`	Text	Method used to date the material. Preserve the reported method.
Dated material `dated_sample`	Text	Sample or material dated by the cited study.
Reported age `estimated_age`	Text	Reported age, unit, uncertainty and calibration or reference convention. Do not convert an age to a publication year.
Publication year `publication_year`	Whole number	Year of publication of the supporting study.
Submission notes `submission_notes`	Text	Explain corrections, coordinate accuracy, measurement methods, vertical datum and any uncertainty. Identify attachments here.

Site guidance

Keep reported altitude, tidal range and water table values together with their units and vertical reference. Preserve reported ranges rather than inventing a single value.
For ages, retain the reported uncertainty, unit, dating convention and calibration information. Record the dated material and method separately.
Use reported mineralogy and formation interpretations. Leave unreported properties blank. The field area describes a locality, not a measured surface area.

Include contributor names, affiliation and contact details in your email. Attach the completed file and supporting sources manually. The research team reviews each submission before publication.

Sources & citations

Submit Beachrocks data

Prepare your submission

Required fields

Site guidance