Relative Sea-level History Research Articles

Holocene Relative Sea-Level Changes from Near-, Intermediate-, and Far-Field Locations

Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) records exhibit spatial and temporal variability that arises mainly from the interaction of eustatic (land ice volume and thermal expansion) and isostatic (glacio- and hydro-) factors. We fit RSL histories from near-, intermediate-, and far-field locations with noisy-input Gaussian process models to assess rates of RSL change. Records from near-field regions (e.g., Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Sweden, and Scotland) reveal a complex pattern of RSL fall from a maximum marine limit due to the net effect of eustatic sea-level rise and glacio-isostatic uplift with rates of RSL fall as great as −69 ± 9 m/ka. Intermediate-field regions (e.g., mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA, Netherlands, Southern France, St. Croix) display variable rates of RSL rise from the cumulative effect of eustatic and isostatic factors. Fast rates of RSL rise (up to 10 ± 1 m/ka) are found in the early Holocene in regions near the center of forebulge collapse. Far-field RSL records exhibit a mid-Holocene highstand, the timing (between 8 and 4 ka) and magnitude (between <1 and 6 m) of which varies among South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania regions.

A Marine Isotope Stage 4 age for Pleistocene raised beach deposits near Fethard, southern Ireland

ABSTRACTRaised beach deposits around the Irish coast have been interpreted as interglacial or last glacial in age. On the south coast of Ireland, the Courtmacsherry Formation raised beach (CFB), near Fethard, County Wexford, was dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). This site was previously dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6–5, but more recent dating of the CFB elsewhere along the south coast shows it is considerably younger (MIS 4–3). The OSL analyses in this paper aimed to determine if new dating would support the greater age of the Fethard raised beach or realign it with the CFB. The new OSL ages place the formation of the Fethard raised beach between 57 ± 6 and 45 ± 6 ka, with 53 ± 5 ka the most likely age if a single depositional event is assumed. This is consistent with OSL dates of the CFB elsewhere. An MIS 4–3 age has important implications in understanding the palaeogeography and timing of glaciation in Ireland, and requires a reassessment of regional relative sea level history. As the eustatic response to global ice volume resulted in lowered relative sea level during MIS 4–2, a crustal response to glaciation is implied by the new dates.

Late Quaternary evolution and sea-level history of a glaciated marine embayment, Bantry Bay, SW Ireland

Ireland experienced a spatially complex pattern of relative sea-level (RSL) changes and shoreline development caused by the interplay of isostatic and eustatic (ice equivalent sea level) processes since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Using a combination of high-resolution marine geophysical data, vibrocores, foraminiferal analysis and 10 AMS radiocarbon dates, we reconstruct the Late Quaternary evolution and RSL history of Bantry Bay, a large (40km long, 5–10km wide) embayment in SW Ireland.The data indicate two infill phases: one before and one after the LGM, separated by glacial and lowstand sediments. The pre-LGM history is not dated and the depositional history is inferred. A large sediment lobe formed at the outer edge of Bantry Bay as a lowstand ice-proximal glacimarine outwash system as the ice retreated after the LGM, at a sea level ca. 80m lower than present. Iceberg scour immediately west of this location likely relate to the break-up of the local Kerry–Cork Ice Cap. Long curvilinear ridges, seen both offshore and on top of the sediment lobe, probably formed as shoreface ridges under stronger-than-present tidal currents during a period of RSL stability (pre-14.6kacal BP). A subsequent infill phase is characterised by a basin-wide erosional (ravinement) surface and the deposition of inter- and sub-tidal estuarine sediments. Although our data support the general trends, our stratigraphic and radiocarbon data suggest a higher sea level between 11 and 13.5kacal BP than predicted by existing glacial isostatic adjustment models.

Late Quaternary relative sea level in Southern California and Monterey Bay

Few records of late Quaternary relative sea level (RSL) are available for the Pacific coast of North America south of San Francisco Bay, a region where RSL data would be particularly useful for constraining vertical rates of tectonic motion. This paper provides the first regional, uplift-corrected late Quaternary RSL history for southern California derived from a compilation of 132 previously published and unpublished radiocarbon ages from nearshore, estuarine, and freshwater deposits in sediment cores from coastal southern California. We also provide a local, uplift-corrected RSL history for Monterey Bay, central California, generated from 48 radiocarbon ages from Elkhorn Slough and surrounding environments. Our resulting compilations show rapid sea-level rise from 15 ka which begins to decelerate to present mean sea level (PMSL) between 6 and 8 ka. Late Holocene (<4 ka) sea-level rise averaged 0.8 ± 0.3 mm a−1 in southern California and 1.3 ± 0.19 mm a−1 along Monterey Bay in central California. Both rates of late Holocene RSL rise calculated are lower than recent RSL rates from southern California (∼1.61 ± 0.34 to 2.4 ± 1.04 mm a−1) and Monterey Bay (1.49 ± 0.95 mm a−1), derived from uplift-corrected, 20th century tide gauge data. This new RSL data fills geographical gaps in relative sea-level histories, as well as provides important datums for local tectonic processes.

Insight into the late Holocene sea-level changes in the NW Atlantic from a paraglacial beach-ridge plain south of Newfoundland

Constructional sedimentary features can provide insight into past changes in relative sea-level (RSL) in regions where traditional bio-stratigraphic markers are absent. The paraglacial beach-ridge plain at Miquelon-Langlade, located 50km south of Newfoundland, is an example of a well-preserved regressive barrier. Initiation of this plain correlates with a decrease in the rate of RSL rise (from +4.4mm/yr to ~1.3mm/yr) at around 3000years ago. It developed under conditions of normal regression during a period of slow RSL rise (<1.3mm/yr). The barrier is composed of two oppositely prograding mixed sand-and-gravel beach-ridge systems, which evolved contemporaneously along two open coasts. The growth of these features reflects high rates of sediment influx that was sourced from the erosion of proximal glacigenic sediment (moraines) and reworked alongshore and across-shore by wave action. The combination of stratigraphic (ground-penetrating radar and sediment cores), topographic (RTK-GPS) and chronologic (optically stimulated luminescence, OSL) data provide a detailed understanding of the constructional history of the plain. The well-defined contact between coarse-grained, wave-built facies and overlying aeolian deposits is used to demonstrate the dominant influences of RSL change in the development of the barrier system and produce a RSL curve over the period of its formation. A net increase of 2.4m in the surface elevation of wave-built facies is observed across the plain, corresponding to the increase in mean sea-level during its formation. Coupled with OSL dates, trends in elevation of the wave-built facies across the plain are used to reconstruct the relative sea-level history during this period. Acknowledging the uncertainties inherent in the method applied in this study, three distinct periods of sea-level rise can be distinguished: (1) an increase from 2.4 to 1m below modern MSL between 2400 and 1500years (average rate of +1.3mm/yr); (2) relatively stable or slowly rising RSL (<+0.2mm/yr) from 1400 to 700years; and (3) a rise of ca. 0.7m during the past 700years (+1.1mm/yr). This study not only produces the first RSL reconstruction for the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon archipelago but also provides: (i) additional details of RSL changes in a region exhibiting great spatial variations in RSL histories (Newfoundland); (ii) field confirmation that wave-built/aeolian stratigraphic contacts in beach ridges can provide a powerful tool for sea-level reconstructions in mixed clastic systems; and (iii) evidence that sediment influxes can outpace the rate of accommodation creation producing a broad, progradational coastal system.

Accommodation space, relative sea level, and the archiving of paleo-earthquakes along subduction zones

The spatial variability of Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) change influences the capacities of coastal environments to accommodate a sedimentary record of paleoenvironmental change. In this study we couch a specific investigation in more general terms in order to demonstrate the applicability of the relative sea-level history approach to paleoseismic investigations. Using subsidence stratigraphy, we trace the different modes of coastal sedimentation over the course of time in the eastern Indian Ocean where RSL change evolved from rapidly rising to static from 8000 yr ago to present. Initially, the coastal sites from the Aceh, Sumatra, coastal plain, which are subject to repeated great earthquakes and tsunamis, built up a sedimentary sequence in response to a RSL rise of 1.4 mm/yr. The sequence found at 2 sites 8 km apart contained 3 soils of a mangrove origin (Rhizophora, Bruguiera/Ceriops, Avicennia pollen, and/or intertidal foraminifera) buried by sudden submergence related to coseismic subsidence and 6 tsunami sands that contain pristine subtidal and planktic foraminifera. After 3800 cal yr B.P. (years before A.D. 1950), sea level stabilized and remained such to the present. The stable relative sea level reduced accommodation space in the late Holocene, suggesting that the continued aggradation of the coastal plain was a consequence of periodic coastal inundation by tsunamis.

Glacial isostatic adjustment, relative sea level history and mantle viscosity: reconciling relative sea level model predictions for the U.S. East coast with geological constraints

Models of the glacial isostatic adjustment process, which is dominated by the influence of the Late Pleistocene cycle of glaciation and deglaciation, depend on two fundamental inputs: a history of ice-sheet loading and a model of the radial variation of mantle viscosity. These models may be tested and refined by comparing their local predictions of relative sea level history to geological inferences based upon appropriate sea level indicators. The U.S. Atlantic coast is a region of particular interest in this regard, due to the fact that data from the length of this coast provides a transect of the forebulge associated with the former Laurentide ice sheet. High-quality relative sea level histories from this region are employed herein to explore the ability of current models of mantle viscosity to explain the inferred evolution of relative sea level that have accompanied forebulge collapse following deglaciation. Existing misfits are characterized, and alternatives are explored for their reconciliation. It is demonstrated that a new model of mantle viscosity, referred to herein as VM6, when coupled with the latest model of deglaciation history ICE-6G_C, is able to eliminate the majority of these misfits, while continuing to reconcile a wide range of other important geophysical observables, as well as additional relative sea level data from the North American. West coast which also record the collapse of the forebulge but which have not been employed in tuning the viscosity profile to enable ICE-6G_C (VM6) to fit the East coast data set.

The role of elevation, relative sea-level history and vegetation transition in determining carbon distribution in Spartina alterniflora dominated salt marshes

Spartina alterniflora salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems on earth, and represent a substantial global carbon sink. Understanding the spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of both above- and below-ground carbon in these wetland ecosystems is especially important considering their potential in carbon sequestration projects, as well as for conservation efforts in the context of a changing climate and rising sea-level. Through the use of extensive field sampling and remote sensing data (Light Detection and Ranging – LiDAR, and aerial images), we sought to map and explain how vegetation biomass and soil carbon are related to elevation and relative sea-level change in a S. alterniflora dominated salt marsh on Galveston Island, Texas. The specific objectives of this study were to: 1) understand the relationship between elevation and the distribution of salt marsh vegetation percent cover, plant height, plant density, above-and below-ground biomass, and carbon, and 2) evaluate the temporal changes in relative sea-level history, vegetation transitions, and resulting changes in the patterns of soil carbon distribution. Our results indicated a clear zonation of terrain and vegetation characteristics (i.e., height, cover and biomass). In the soil profile, carbon concentrations and bulk densities showed significant and abrupt change at a depth of ∼10–15 cm. This apparent transition in the soil characteristics coincided temporally with a transformation of the land cover, as driven by a rapid increase in relative sea-level around this time at the sample locations. The amounts of soil carbon stored in recently established S. alterniflora intertidal marshes were significantly lower than those that have remained in situ for a longer period of time. Thus, in order to quantify and predict carbon in coastal wetlands, and also to understand the heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of carbon stocks, it is essential to understand not only the elevation, the relative sea-level rise rate, and the vertical accretion rate – but also the history of land cover change and vegetation transition.

Space geodesy constrains ice age terminal deglaciation: The global ICE‐6G_C (VM5a) model

AbstractA new model of the last deglaciation event of the Late Quaternary ice age is here described and denoted as ICE‐6G_C (VM5a). It differs from previously published models in this sequence in that it has been explicitly refined by applying all of the available Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of vertical motion of the crust that may be brought to bear to constrain the thickness of local ice cover as well as the timing of its removal. Additional space geodetic constraints have also been applied to specify the reference frame within which the GPS data are described. The focus of the paper is upon the three main regions of Last Glacial Maximum ice cover, namely, North America, Northwestern Europe/Eurasia, and Antarctica, although Greenland and the British Isles will also be included, if peripherally, in the discussion. In each of the three major regions, the model predictions of the time rate of change of the gravitational field are also compared to that being measured by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites as an independent means of verifying the improvement of the model achieved by applying the GPS constraints. Several aspects of the global characteristics of this new model are also discussed, including the nature of relative sea level history predictions at far‐field locations, in particular the Caribbean island of Barbados, from which especially high‐quality records of postglacial sea level change are available but which records were not employed in the development of the model. Although ICE‐6G_C (VM5a) is a significant improvement insofar as the most recently available GPS observations are concerned, comparison of model predictions with such far‐field relative sea level histories enables us to identify a series of additional improvements that should follow from a further stage of model iteration.

Tropical tales of polar ice: evidence of Last Interglacial polar ice sheet retreat recorded by fossil reefs of the granitic Seychelles islands

In the search for a record of eustatic sea level change on glacial–interglacial timescales, the Seychelles ranks as one of the best places on the planet to study. Owing to its location with respect to the former margins of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets that wax and wane on orbital cycles, the local—or relative—sea level history is predicted to lie within a few meters of the globally averaged eustatic signal during the Last Interglacial period. We have surveyed and dated Last Interglacial fossil corals to ascertain peak sea level and hence infer maximum retreat of polar ice sheets during this time interval. We observe a pattern of gradually rising sea level in the Seychelles between ∼129 and 125 thousand years ago (ka), with peak eustatic sea level attained after 125 ka at 7.6 ± 1.7 m higher than present. After accounting for thermal expansion and loss of mountain glaciers, this sea-level budget would require ∼5–8 m of polar ice sheet contribution, relative to today's volume, of which only ∼2 m came from the Greenland ice sheet. This result clearly identifies the Antarctic ice sheet as a significant source of melt water, most likely derived from one of the unstable, marine-based sectors in the West and/or East Antarctic ice sheet. Furthermore, the establishment of a +5.9 ± 1.7 m eustatic sea level position by 128.6 ± 0.8 ka would require that partial AIS collapse was coincident with the onset of the sea level highstand.

Salt-marsh reconstructions of relative sea-level change in the North Atlantic during the last 2000 years

Sea-level changes record changes in the mass balance of ice sheets and mountain glaciers, as well as dynamic ocean–atmosphere processes. Unravelling the contribution of each of these mechanisms on Late Holocene timescales ideally requires observations from a number of sites on several coasts within one or more oceans. We present the first 2000 year-long continuous salt marsh-based reconstructions of relative sea-level (RSL) change from the eastern North Atlantic and uniquely from a slowly uplifting coastline. We develop three RSL histories from two sites in north west Scotland to test for regional changes in sea-level tendency (a positive tendency indicating an increase in the proximity of marine conditions and a negative tendency the reverse), whilst at the same time highlighting methodological issues, including the problems of dataset noise when applying transfer functions to fossil salt-marsh sequences. The records show that RSL has been stable (±0.4 m) during the last two millennia, and that the regional sea-level tendency has been negative throughout most of the record lengths. A recent switch in the biostratigraphy of all three records, indicating a regional positive tendency, means we cannot reject the hypothesis of a 20th century sea-level acceleration occurring in north west Scotland that must have exceeded the rate of background RSL fall (−0.4 mm yr−1), but this signal appears muted and later than recorded from the western North Atlantic.

The Antarctica component of postglacial rebound model ICE-6G_C (VM5a) based on GPS positioning, exposure age dating of ice thicknesses, and relative sea level histories

The Antarctica component of postglacial rebound model ICE-6G_C (VM5a) based on GPS positioning, exposure age dating of ice thicknesses, and relative sea level histories

A relative sea-level history for Arviat, Nunavut, and implications for Laurentide Ice Sheet thickness west of Hudson Bay

Thirty-six new and previously published radiocarbon dates constrain the relative sea-level history of Arviat on the west coast of Hudson Bay. As a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) following deglaciation, sea level fell rapidly from a high-stand of nearly 170m elevation just after 8000cal yr BP to 60m elevation by the mid Holocene (~5200cal yr BP). The rate of sea-level fall decreased in the mid and late Holocene, with sea level falling 30m since 3000cal yr BP. Several late Holocene sea-level measurements are interpreted to originate from the upper end of the tidal range and place tight constraints on sea level. A preliminary measurement of present-day vertical land motion obtained by repeat Global Positioning System (GPS) occupations indicates ongoing crustal uplift at Arviat of 9.3±1.5mm/yr, in close agreement with the crustal uplift rate inferred from the inferred sea-level curve. Predictions of numerical GIA models indicate that the new sea-level curve is best fit by a Laurentide Ice Sheet reconstruction with a last glacial maximum peak thickness of ~3.4km. This is a 30–35% thickness reduction of the ICE-5G ice-sheet history west of Hudson Bay.

Multi-sourced depositional sequences in the Neogene to Quaternary succession of the Venice area (northern Italy)

The Plio-Pleistocene succession of the Venice area represents part of the infill of a foreland region located between three mountain chains: the Northern Apennines, the Southern Alps and the Dinarides. This structural setting favored the development of a complex stratigraphic architecture of the succession, mostly due to the conveying of sediments from the Southern Alps to the north and the Northern Apennines to the south, in particular since the activation of strong subsidence related to the NE-ward migration of the Apennine foredeep in the early Pleistocene. Accordingly, the studied succession is composed of five third-order sequences mostly controlled by tectonics, the most recent of which display complex patterns due to the interfingering of sedimentary bodies showing contrasting directions of progradation and pinch-out. Despite this, the sequence stratigraphic method still can be applied in the present context, allowing to recognize diagnostic stratal architectures and reconstruct the relative sea-level history of the region. Moreover, the recognized peculiar stratigraphic architecture of the basin fill may serve as an analogue that needs to be taken into account to predict the distribution of porous coarse-grained sedimentary units in similar contexts, aiding for a profitable exploration and production of reservoirs and source/sealing rocks.

Large-scale carbonate platform development of Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas, and implications for associated reef geomorphology

The Bahama Archipelago consists of an arcuate chain of carbonate platforms. Average water depths on the platform-tops, such as the Great Bahama Bank (GBB), are typically 10m or less, with coral reef-rimmed margins, thick sediment accumulations, and the frequent occurrence of islands. There are, however, exceptions. For example, Cay Sal Bank (CSB), a little studied detached Bahamian carbonate platform with depths ranging from 30 to 7m, is only slightly deeper than the GBB, but devoid of islands, lacks platform-margin coral reefs and holds little sediment on the platform-top; the platform is incipiently drowned. CSB is interesting as it is conspicuously larger (6000sq.km) than other incipiently drowned platforms in the region, such as Serranilla Bank (1100sq.km) and the Cat Island platform (1500sq.km). Field and remote sensing data are assembled to provide insight into the sedimentology and geomorphology of the CSB. The influence of ocean climate, regional hydrodynamics, and Holocene flooding history are investigated to understand why platform-margin coral reef growth on CSB has been unable to keep pace with Holocene sea-level rise. A decade of regional sea-surface temperature data for the Bahamas report CSB to be situated in the same ocean climate regime as GBB. Temperature cannot explain the platform's different morphologies. The Florida Current has been evoked as a possible reason for the immature development of platform-top processes on the CSB, but numeric modeling suggests its influence to be restricted to the deep flanks of the bank. Further, sediment distribution on CSB, including infill patterns of karst depressions, suggest trade winds (easterlies) to drive platform-top hydrodynamics. By assembling a satellite-derived bathymetry map, it can be shown that CSB flooded earlier and at relatively higher rates of Holocene sea-level rise than its neighboring platforms. Flooding history is identified as the most feasible explanation for the atypical morphology of the CSB. By contrasting the present-day morphology of the CSB and the GBB, the work emphasizes how subtle differences in relative sea-level history can influence the growth of platform-margin coral reefs, features that in turn can conspire to set even closely neighboring carbonate platforms on divergent paths with regard to the development of marine landforms. This insight is relevant to interpreting the morphological diversity of carbonate platforms in the modern ocean and in the rock record.

Glaciotectonic deformation and reinterpretation of the Worth Point stratigraphic sequence: Banks Island, NT, Canada

Hill-hole pairs, comprising an ice-pushed hill and associated source depression, cluster in a belt along the west coast of Banks Island, NT. Ongoing coastal erosion at Worth Point, southwest Banks Island, has exposed a section (6 km long and ∼30 m high) through an ice-pushed hill that was transported ∼ 2 km from a corresponding source depression to the southeast. The exposed stratigraphic sequence is polydeformed and comprises folded and faulted rafts of Early Cretaceous and Late Tertiary bedrock, a prominent organic raft, Quaternary glacial sediments, and buried glacial ice. Three distinct structural domains can be identified within the stratigraphic sequence that represent proximal to distal deformation in an ice-marginal setting. Complex thrust sequences, interfering fold-sets, brecciated bedrock and widespread shear structures superimposed on this ice-marginally deformed sequence record subsequent deformation in a subglacial shear zone.Analysis of cross-cutting relationships within the stratigraphic sequence combined with OSL dating indicate that the Worth Point hill-hole pair was deformed during two separate glaciotectonic events. Firstly, ice sheet advance constructed the hill-hole pair and glaciotectonized the strata ice-marginally, producing a proximal to distal deformation sequence. A glacioisostatically forced marine transgression resulted in extensive reworking of the strata and the deposition of a glaciomarine diamict. A readvance during this initial stage redeformed the strata in a subglacial shear zone, overprinting complex deformation structures and depositing a glaciotectonite ∼20 m thick. Outwash channels that incise the subglacially deformed strata record a deglacial marine regression, whereas aggradation of glaciofluvial sand and gravel infilling the channels record a subsequent marine transgression. Secondly, a later, largely non-erosive ice margin overrode Worth Point, deforming only the most surficial units in the section and depositing a capping till.The investigation of the Worth Point stratigraphic sequence provides the first detailed description of the internal architecture of a polydeformed hill-hole pair, and as such provides an insight into the formation and evolution of an enigmatic landform. Notably, the stratigraphic sequence documents ice-marginal and subglacial glaciotectonics in permafrost terrain, as well as regional glacial and relative sea level histories. The reinterpreted stratigraphy fundamentally rejects the long-established paleoenvironmental history of Worth Point that assumed a simple ‘layer-cake’ stratigraphy including the type-site for an organically rich, preglacial interval (Worth Point Fm).

A 3-D coupled ice sheet – sea level model applied to Antarctica through the last 40 ky

We present results from a three-dimensional ice sheet-shelf model of Antarctica, coupled to a gravitationally self-consistent global sea-level model that incorporates (Maxwell) viscoelastic deformation of the solid Earth. The coupled model captures complex post-glacial changes in sea level associated with the gravitational, deformational and rotational effects of the evolving surface mass (ice plus ocean) load over the global ocean, including at the grounding lines of marine-based ice. The simulations are initiated at 40 ka and we focus on ice distributions and sea levels from the Last Glacial Maximum to present. Our results extend and confirm the key conclusions of earlier work using a simplified, 1-D ice-sheet model, by demonstrating that the sea-level coupling has a significant stabilizing influence on marine ice-sheet grounding lines. The feedback of sea-level changes into the ice-sheet model acts to slow down the retreat and advance of the grounding line relative to simulations in which the full coupling is not incorporated. Differences in ice thickness between these simulations can reach ∼1 km close to the grounding line. Finally, we perform preliminary comparisons of our results to relative sea level (RSL) histories and GPS-derived present-day uplift rates at sites near the margins of Antarctica. We find that the coupling improves fits to uplift rates in several regions, and that the RSL predictions of the coupled model yield a fit to the observations that is comparable to recent, uncoupled simulations in which the underlying Earth model was varied to obtain a best-fit to the RSL histories.

Using relative sea-level data to constrain the deglacial and Holocene history of southern Greenland

This paper presents new Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) data collected from isolation basins close to the town of Paamiut in south west Greenland. The data shows a rapid fall from a marine limit of c. 52 m asl at c. 10.9 cal. ka BP to close to present by c. 9.5 cal. ka BP, at rates of up to c. 32 mm/yr, falling below present for the majority of the Holocene before rising to present in the last 2000 years. The elevation of the RSL lowstand is not well constrained, but was at least below −3 m. This pattern of rapid RSL fall during the early Holocene matches the pattern seen at other southern Greenland locations suggesting rapid, largely simultaneous ice retreat from the area surrounding the Qassimiut Lobe at the start of the Holocene, occurring c. 2000 years after the initial deglaciation of the extreme southern tip of Greenland. The RSL histories from this and other southern Greenland locations are distinct to those recorded further north along the west coast, and are in broad agreement with a pattern of vertical land motion and RSL predicted by the Huy2 model (Simpson et al., 2009), which predicts an 80 m drop in the contribution of vertical land motion to RSL at 10 cal. ka BP between Sisimiut and Paamiut on the west coast. Despite this broad-scale spatial agreement between the RSL data and the Huy2 model, it fails to satisfactorily predict the Holocene RSL histories at Paamiut and other southern Greenland locations. Sensitivity tests indicate that the data-model misfits are most likely due to an over-estimate of the forcing during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (or the response to this forcing) in southern Greenland and error in the North American ice sheets component of the background deglaciation model. Our new data suggests that much of the southern part of the ice sheet acted differently to the area further north. However RSL changes at Paamiut are also largely impacted by regional and larger-scale processes including a bulls-eye of uplift centred on the west, the impact of the Holocene Thermal Maximum and the influence of the collapse of the North American ice sheets.

An updated database of Holocene relative sea level changes in NE Aegean Sea

The reconstruction of Holocene relative sea levels has several implications, ranging from the investigation of coastal vertical movements to the calibration of earth rheology models and ice sheet reconstructions. The North Eastern Aegean Sea is among the tectonically complex sectors of the Eastern Mediterranean, mainly influenced by the activity of the North Anatolian Fault. In this paper, we created a relative sea level (RSL) database by expanding upon the previous compilation with recently published geological and archaeological data. We reconstruct the RSL history in those Aegean coastal sectors located within the South Marmara microplate, a broad shear zone located between western Anatolia and central Greece and affected by dominant strike–slip faulting, at times combined with a normal component. Then, we compared it with the RSL histories obtained for the surrounding coastal sectors. The analysis of the database indicated that it is not possible to define a common Holocene RSL curve for the entire NE Aegean, as RSL history here is majorly influenced by changes in deformation patterns. In addition, data in our database are consistent with a continuous RSL rise in the last 6.0 ka BP in the whole NE Aegean Sea and cannot support the hypothesis of a mid-Holocene RSL highstand in the area. Finally, we present our best estimates of late Holocene rates of RSL prior to any possible acceleration during the twentieth century in the broad area of NE Aegean. Here we identified the fastest rising rate (∼0.9 mm a−1) in that sector whose active tectonic deformation is mainly controlled by the North Anatolian Fault activity.

Deciphering patterns of postglacial sea level at the junction of the Laurentide and Innuitian Ice Sheets, western Canadian High Arctic

Recent sampling of deglacial and postglacial raised marine sediments across Melville and Eglinton islands in the western Canadian High Arctic yielded over 200 new radiocarbon dates on molluscs, driftwood and other organic materials. From this database, eight relative sea-level curves and an isobase map for the 9.5 cal ka BP shoreline were constructed. The forms, chronology and pattern of the relative sea-level curves across the study area reflect the complex glacial history of this region, including the asynchronous retreat of the formerly coalescent Laurentide and Innuitian Ice Sheets. Zone I relative sea-level curves, which show continuous emergence to present, were observed in areas closer to greater Last Glacial Maximum ice sheet loading; at more distal sites, transitional Zone I/II curves display emergence followed by submergence in the mid- to late-Holocene (still ongoing) related to forebulge migration and collapse. An independent record of late Holocene submergence is provided by radiocarbon-dated driftwood, which is accumulating at modern sea level due to re-deposition during transgression. Geomorphic evidence of submergence at the modern coastline is widespread but does not distinguish areas that experienced a late Holocene lowstand and subsequent transgression from those that are currently at their lowstand. Of special interest are the relative sea-level histories of two areas that experienced earlier deglaciation by the Laurentide Ice Sheet, while remaining in the peripheral depression of the more stable and adjacent Innuitian Ice Sheet. The flat-topped relative sea-level curves from these sites appear to record unusually slow rates of glacioisostatic emergence for ∼1500 years immediately following deglaciation. The relative sea-level data presented in this paper provide important comparisons for sea level models, which have been shown to fit poorly with previously published data from this region.