Abstract

Abstract. We use a standardized template for Pleistocene sea-level data to review last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5 – MIS 5) sea-level indicators along the coasts of the western Atlantic and southwestern Caribbean, on a transect spanning from Brazil to Honduras and including the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. We identified six main types of sea-level indicators (beach deposits, coral reef terraces, lagoonal deposits, marine terraces, Ophiomorpha burrows, and tidal notches) and produced 55 standardized data points, each constrained by one or more geochronological methods. Sea-level indicators are well preserved along the Brazilian coasts, providing an almost continuous north-to-south transect. However, this continuity disappears north of the Rio Grande do Norte Brazilian state. According to the sea-level index points (discrete past position of relative sea level in space and time) the paleo sea-level values range from ∼ 5.6 to 20 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the continental sector and from ∼ 2 to 10 m a.s.l. in the Caribbean islands. In this paper, we address the uncertainties surrounding these values. From our review, we identify that the coasts of northern Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela would benefit from a renewed study of Pleistocene sea-level indicators, as it was not possible to identify sea-level index points for the last interglacial coastal outcrops of these countries. Future research must also be directed at improving the chronological control at several locations, and several sites would benefit from the re-measurement of sea-level index points using more accurate elevation measurement techniques. The database compiled in this study is available in spreadsheet format at the following link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5516444 (Version 1.02; Rubio-Sandoval et al., 2021).

Highlights

  • In this paper, we present the results of a literature survey on the last interglacial shorelines (here broadly defined as having formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, 132–80 ka) along the Atlantic coasts of the following countries and territories: Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras

  • We identify that the coasts of northern Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela would benefit from a renewed study of Pleistocene sea-level indicators, as it was not possible to identify sea-level index points for the last interglacial coastal outcrops of these countries

  • We present the results of a literature survey on the last interglacial shorelines (here broadly defined as having formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, 132–80 ka) along the Atlantic coasts of the following countries and territories: Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras

Read more

Summary

Introduction

We present the results of a literature survey on the last interglacial shorelines (here broadly defined as having formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, 132–80 ka) along the Atlantic coasts of the following countries and territories: Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. While we found reports on Pleistocene shorelines in most of the countries and territories listed above, we could only extract sea-level index points (or marine-/terrestrial-limiting points) for Brazil, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, and the islands of Providencia and San Andrés in Colombia (Fig. 1). This was broadly caused by a lack of enough published metadata to allow a proper standardization of sea-level data for the remaining coastal areas. We used published peer-reviewed scientific papers to compile a database of MIS 5 relative sea-level indicators using the standardized framework of WALIS, the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (Rovere et al, 2020). We discuss potential future research directions that may be required to improve the quantity and quality of the data contained in our review

Types of sea-level indicators
Positioning and sea-level datums
Dating techniques
Relative sea-level data
Brazil
Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Catarina
Paraná
São Paulo
Rio de Janeiro
Espírito Santo
Sergipe and Alagoas
Pernambuco
5.1.10 Paraíba
5.1.11 Rio Grande do Norte
Venezuela
Curaçao
Bonaire
Colombia to Honduras
San Andrés
Providencia
Data quality
Departures from the eustatic signal
Last interglacial sea-level fluctuations
Other interglacials and Holocene sea-level indicators
Findings
Future research directions

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.