Vermetid platforms as indicators of coastal movements.

Vermetid-covered platforms are common on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, but are a rare phenomenon globally. Their shape, uniform level, and local abundance indicate that they can exist only where the coastal rocks are sufficiently soft and erodable and where the coast is rising at an appropriate rate relative to the rate of marine erosion. The characteristics of the platforms are preserved by a balance between marine erosion controlled by vermetid growth and coastal uplift. -Authors