Epeirogenic Plate Movements

Abstract

Consideration is given to the kinematics of epeirogenic movements over the recent geologic past (late Pleistocene) in a region for which there is an abundance of geological and geophysical information-the continental shelf off the East Coast of North America. It is found that there has been a relative change in elevation of 140 m downward toward the northeast over this longitudinal distance of 3000 km during the past 18,000 years. Specifically, Miami has been elevated at a rate of 0.8 cm/yr with respect to the Scotian shelf continental margin. The confirming data include the shelf break corrected for progradation, reef building, and glacio-isostatic adjustment; late Pleistocene shores on the continental shelf; earlier Pleistocene unconformity surfaces; dated geologic samples of known shallow water origin; buried Pleistocene channels; and recent leveling analysis.