Holocene relative sea-level history of the Southern Victoria Land Coast, Antarctica

Abstract

More than 130 radiocarbon dates of penguin remains and guano, sealskin, shells, and seaweed from raised beach ridges afford relative sea-level information for southern Victoria Land. A new relative sea-level curve suggests that the final unloading of grounded ice from the coast took place about 6600 14C years BP, in keeping with previous estimates of the timing of deglaciation. Since this time, the coast has experienced 32 m of relative sea-level fall at rates ranging from 2 to 15 mm/year, consistent with glacioisostatic rebound.