Abstract
Abstract. This paper presents the current state of knowledge of the Aotearoa New Zealand last interglacial (marine isotope stage 5, MIS 5, sensu lato) sea-level record compiled within the framework of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS) database. A total of 77 relative sea-level (RSL) indicators (direct, marine-limiting, and terrestrial-limiting points), commonly in association with marine terraces, were identified from over 120 studies reviewed. Extensive coastal deformation around New Zealand has prompted research focused on active tectonics, the scale of which overprints the sea-level record in most regions. The ranges of last interglacial palaeo-shoreline elevations are significant on both the North Island (276.8 ± 10.0 to −94.2 ± 10.6 ma.m.s.l., above mean sea level) and South Island (165.8 ± 2.0 to −70.0 ± 10.3 ma.m.s.l.) and have been used to estimate rates of vertical land movement; however, in many instances there is a lack of adequate description and age constraint for high-quality RSL indicators. Identified RSL indicators are correlated with MIS 5, MIS 5e, MIS 5c, and MIS 5a and indicate the potential for the New Zealand sea-level record to inform sea-level fluctuation and climatic change within MIS 5. The Northland Region of the North Island and southeastern South Island, historically considered stable, have the potential to provide a regional sea-level curve, minimally impacted by glacio- and hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) and reflecting near-eustatic fluctuations in a remote location of the South Pacific, across broad degrees of latitude; however, additional records from these regions are needed. Future work requires modern analogue information, heights above a defined sea-level datum, better stratigraphic descriptions, and use of improved geochronological methods. The database presented in this study is available open access at this link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4590188 (Ryan et al., 2020a).
Highlights
The New Zealand (NZ) nation (Aotearoa in the Maori language) is an archipelago comprised of two large “main” islands, nine outlying island groups, and hundreds of additional islands
The main islands, the North Island (113 729 km2) and the South Island (151 215 km2), are a small area of Zealandia micro-continental crust straddling the convergent boundary of the Australian and Pacific plates. This geographic setting produces a relatively youthful and complex landscape subject to volcanism, glaciation, and tectonism. This latter characteristic has facilitated the preservation of marine terrace sequences spanning the Pleistocene and into the Holocene that have been the target of much research and discussion of New Zealand geomorphology and geology since the late 19th century
In the last sections of the paper, we address the main sources of uncertainty (Sect. 5), provide further details on the Pleistocene and Holocene sealevel record (Sect. 6), and suggest future research directions (Sect. 7)
Summary
The New Zealand (NZ) nation (Aotearoa in the Maori language) is an archipelago comprised of two large “main” islands, nine outlying island groups, and hundreds of additional islands. Ghani, 1978; Hesp and Shepherd, 1978; Pillans, 1983, 1986; Bull and Copper, 1986; Ward, 1988a; Suggate, 1992; Berryman, 1993; Ota et al, 1996; Rees-Jones et al, 2000; Begg et al, 2004; Kim and Sutherland, 2004; Litchfield and Lian, 2004; Alloway et al, 2005; Cooper and Kostro, 2006; Wilson et al, 2007; Claessens et al, 2009; Clark et al, 2010; Oakley et al, 2018) This heralded the practice of correlating a marine terrace with a generic age (e.g. 120 000 ka) and height of the highstand (e.g. 5 m), usually derived from the marine oxygenisotope records, with little effort to provide precise locations, elevations, or stratigraphic descriptions of sea-level indicators. Until late into the 20th century studies had to contend with difficulties in correlating distant sequences due to limited geochronological methods and still must grapple with the tectonically active nature of the islands and difficult topography
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