Coastal response to the Holocene transgression in the Bahamas: episodic sedimentation versus continuous sea-level rise

Sedimentological and petrographic study of Holocene deposits in the Eastern Bahamas shows that sedimentation occurred episodically during this period of continually rising sea-level.

The Holocene stratigraphic record exposed on the islands of San Salvador, Lee Stocking and Cat consists of two distinctive units separated by a paleosol: (1) 5000 year-old oolitic eolianites deposited when sea-level was lower than today, and (2) 3000 to 500 year-old bioclastic paleo-beaches and dunes that are congruent with the present stand of sea-level.

A five-stage model that reconciles intermittent sedimentation pattern with continuous sea-level rise is presented. Pre-Holocene topography and changes in the rate of the transgression seem to regulate local⁴ hydrodynamic conditions, which in turn control onset and offset of sedimentary processes.

This Holocene example of episodic sedimentation during an uninterrupted transgression should be considered when studying ancient discontinuities that are systematically interpreted in terms of relative sea-level fall.     

Cat Island platform, Bahamas: an incipiently drowned Holocene carbonate shelf

Analyses of high resolution, seismic reflection profiles and surface sediment samples indicate that the Cat Island shelf is presently in an incipiently drowned state. This small carbonate bank is characterized by a thin (<4 m), coarse-grained, relict sediment cover, along with limited reef development, and a relatively deep (20–30 m) margin indicating that it has been unable to ‘keep-up’ with Holocene sea-level rise. Early flooding at relatively high rates of sea-level rise (4 m kyr^-1, 5–8 × 10³ yr BP) in conjunction with small bank size and relatively low elevation, led to a reduced rate of carbonate accumulation and incipient drowning. The shelf edge currently lies beneath the zone of maximum carbonate production and exposes the interior shelf to open marine conditions which may result in permanent drowning if it is unable to ‘catch-up’ with continued sea-level rise. Sediment facies patterns are largely oriented perpendicular or oblique to the shelf edge and appear to be controlled by shelf circulation patterns focused by bank-margin reentrants. In comparison with most of the northern Bahamas, the Cat Island shelf was flooded earlier and at relatively higher rates of Holocene sea-level rise which led to selective drowning, implying that carbonate platforms need not drown synchronously over widespread areas as commonly thought. The potential rock record of this incipient drowning event would be a thin, open-marine sand sheet of highly degraded cryptocrystalline and aggregate grains associated with poorly developed reefs.     

深圳西冲湾的海蚀地貌与海滩沉积研究

利用对深圳西冲湾两个岬角之间的海蚀地貌及其海滩沉积物的野外调查资料,鉴定出三级海蚀平台,对其分别进行了高程换算,并借助于海蚀拱门和海蚀刻槽的测定,以及对典型沙层沉积剖面序列的分析和14C测年,认为：虽然西冲湾海蚀平台的岩石类型是不易被侵蚀的花岗岩,但是此处的海蚀地貌（主要是海蚀平台）以及海滩沉积物（主要是海滩岩）可以作为全新世存在高海平面的证据。此外,针对我国海岸带人口密度大,人类活动对海岸影响程度大的现况,提出了未来研究南海北部海岸新构造运动存在的问题以及其解决方案。研究成果对于认识南海北部海岸全新世的构造运动、海平面变化以及与其他地区新构造运动的对比研究都具有重要的意义。     

Holocene sea-level changes and crustal movements in Morecambe Bay,northwest England

Holocene stratigraphy from Skelwith Pool, on the northern side of Morecambe Bay, is described. Diatom and pollen analyses and radiocarbon dating have been undertaken for three sampling sites, from which eight sea-level index points have been obtained. These index points come from a small homogeneous area and similar palaeoenvironments. Some published sea-level index points from Morecambe Bay have been re-evaluated and validated by means of diatom analysis. An enhanced sea-level database with 28 index points has been used for the reconstruction of Holocene sea-level history. Relative sea-level rose rapidly around 6870–6510 BC at a maximum rate of +36.7 mm yr⁻¹. Subsequently, the rate of sea-level change has varied between −8 mm yr⁻¹ and +12 mm yr⁻¹. The rate of relative sea-level changes for the last 3500 years is not clear. Uplift driven by deglaciation is believed to have been interrupted in the early Holocene by a rapid rise in relative sea-level. Uplift restarted at 6510 BC but soon declined as glacio-isostatic recovery ended around 3800 BC in the Morecambe Bay area. Since then, crustal movements in the Morecambe Bay area have been minimal. Factors affecting the attitudes of the index points such as sediment compaction of the basal peat and variations in palaeotidal range during the Holocene have been considered. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Holocene sea-level changes and isostatic crustal movements in Atlantic Canada

It has long been recognised that sea levels along the shores of Atlantic Canada have been rising rapidly during the Holocene in response to isostatic crustal movements. New sea-level data for the Bay of Fundy coast of southern New Brunswick (Little Dipper Harbour) and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia (Chezzetcook Inlet) show that late Holocene average rates of sea-level rise in these areas have been 1.0 and 2.5 m per 1000 yr, respectively. Numerical model calculations suggest that the high rates of sea-level rise are due to crustal subsidence produced by the combined effects of Laurentide ice loading (forebulge collapse) and ocean loading of the Scotian shelf. Although ice loading is the dominant contributor to the regional sea-level pattern, ocean loading is also important, contributing up to 40% of the total crustal subsidence in some areas. Tide gauges record rates of sea-level rise during the 20^th century that are 0.7–1.9 mm/yr higher than late Holocene trends, with the highest residuals occurring in the Bay of Fundy.     

Middle and Late Holocene Sea-Level Changes in Eastern Maine Reconstructed from Foraminiferal Saltmarsh Stratigraphy and AMS C Dates on Basal Peat

A relative sea-level history is reconstructed for Machiasport, Maine, spanning the past 6000 calendar years and combining two different methods. The first method establishes the long-term (10³ yr) trend of sea-level rise by dating the base of the Holocene saltmarsh peat overlying a Pleistocene substrate. The second method uses detailed analyses of the foraminiferal stratigraphy of two saltmarsh peat cores to quantify fluctuations superimposed on the long-term trend. The indicative meaning of the peat (the height at which the peat was deposited relative to mean tide level) is calculated by a transfer function based on vertical distributions of modern foraminiferal assemblages. The chronology is determined from AMS ¹⁴C dates on saltmarsh plant fragments embedded in the peat. The combination of the two different approaches produces a high-resolution, replicable sea-level record, which takes into account the autocompaction of the peat sequence. Long-term mean rates of sea-level rise, corrected for changes in tidal range, are 0.75 mm/yr between 6000 and 1500 cal yr B.P. and 0.43 mm/yr during the past 1500 years. The foraminiferal stratigraphy reveals several low-amplitude fluctuations during a relatively stable period between 1100 and 400 cal yr B.P., and a sea-level rise of 0.5 m during the past 300 years.     

辽东半岛大孤山一带沟谷埋藏泥炭的硅藻组合以及 古环境和全新世最高海平面*

在辽东半岛东部的大孤山一带,面向海岸平原的沟谷埋藏泥炭十分发育。通过对11个沟谷进行钻孔调查,确认了在被切割的丘陵台地的沟谷中,埋藏泥炭广泛地发育在海拔\{2~\}10余米的不同高度; 并对钻孔样品做硅藻分析,明确了基底海拔高度在\{4~\}2m的泥炭层之下的沉积物为海生种硅藻占优势的海相层,因而取得了海水广泛侵入大洋河平原并直达沟谷深处的微体古生物方面的证据。进一步对3个代表性的小沟谷平原从沟头到沟口连续钻孔取样以及地质剖面分析,研究沟谷埋藏泥炭在横向上的分布特征表明:沟谷埋藏泥炭是全新世高海面期以后,随着海水的退却而形成的沼泽和湖沼等环境下的溺谷型泥炭; 位于沟谷中沟头位置的海拔4m左右的泥炭底部的标高,大致代表了该区全新世最高海面期海水(平均高潮线)曾达到的位置和高度,其泥炭在沟头开始形成的时期大致代表该区全新世最高海平面期; 研究区约\{6000~\}5500年前达到全新世最高海面,当时海面高度比现在约高出1.7m。     

南海珊瑚礁铀系年龄及其地质意义

珊瑚礁是铀系方法测定年龄相当理想的对象,在国外已获得十分有价值的成果。主要用于讨论更新世以来海平面变化和构造运动上升速率,研究反映环境的珊瑚生长速度。本文珊瑚礁样品选取于海南岛鹿回头、雷州半岛、西沙和中沙群岛等地。成功地测试了铀系年龄,揭示出与¹⁴C 数据的不一致,初步讨论了构造上升速率和南海海面的变化。     

Late Holocene sea-level changes and isostasy in western Denmark

Cores and exposed cliff sections in salt marshes around Ho Bugt, a tidal embayment in the northernmost part of the Danish Wadden Sea, were subjected to ¹⁴C dating and litho- and biostratigraphical analyses to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes and to establish a late Holocene relative sea-level history. Four stages in the late Holocene development of Ho Bugt can be identified: (1) groundwater-table rise and growth of basal peat (from at least 2300 BC to AD 0); (2) salt-marsh formation (0 to AD 250); (3) a freshening phase (AD 250 to AD 1600?), culminating in the drying out of the marshes and producing a distinct black horizon followed by an aeolian phase with sand deposition; and (4) renewed salt-marsh deposition (AD 1600? to present). From 16 calibrated AMS radiocarbon ages on fossil plant fragments and 4 calibrated conventional radiocarbon ages on peat, we reconstructed a local relative sea-level history that shows a steady sea-level rise of 4 m since 4000 cal yr BP. Contrary to suggestions made in the literature, the relative sea-level record of Ho Bugt does not contain a late Holocene highstand. Relative sea-level changes at Ho Bugt are controlled by glacio-isostatic subsidence and can be duplicated by a glacial isostatic adjustment model in which no water is added to the world's oceans after ca. 5000 cal yr BP.     

中国东部全新世以来海面波动特征探讨

对全新世以来中国东部海面变化的资料数据进行全面搜集,其中包括12条原始曲线和 600多个标志物点的多项信息,通过建立数据库、统计分析等多种方法与手段的运用,拟对全新世以来中国东部海面变化小尺度波动进行对比研究,并得出全新世以来中国东部海面波动的一系列特征。初步建立起中国东部全新世以来海面随时间变化的波动序列,即：大致以 6500aBP为界, 6500aBP之前海面在波动中快速上升;6500aBP之后海面波动频繁,变化幅度减弱,但其变化的总趋势呈现出在波动中微微上升的特点。中国东部全新世以来海面变化从总体上来讲共经历了 9个周期的波动变化。     

Development and carbon sequestration of tropical peat domes in south-east Asia: links to post-glacial sea-level changes and Holocene climate variability

Tropical peatlands of SE-Asia represent a significant terrestrial carbon reservoir of an estimated 65 Gt C. In this paper we present a comprehensive data synthesis of radiocarbon dated peat profiles and 31 basal dates of ombrogenous peat domes from the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo and integrate our peatland data with records of past sea-level and climate change in the region. Based on their developmental features three peat dome regions were distinguished: inland Central Kalimantan (Borneo), Kutai basin (Borneo) and coastal areas across the entire region. With the onset of the Holocene the first peat domes developed in Central Kalimantan as a response to rapid post-glacial sea-level rise over the Sunda Shelf and intensification of the Asian monsoon. Peat accumulation rates in Central Kalimantan strongly declined after 8500 cal BP in close relation to the lowering rate of the sea-level rise and possibly influenced by the regional impact of the 8.2 ka event. Peat growth in Central Kalimantan apparently ceased during the Late Holocene in association with amplified El Niño activity as exemplified by several truncated peat profiles. Peat domes from the Kutai basin are all younger than ～8300 cal BP. Peat formation and rates of peat accumulation were driven by accretion rates of the Mahakam River and seemingly independent of climate. Most coastal peat domes, the largest expanse of SE-Asian peatlands, initiated between 7000 and 4000 cal BP as a consequence of a Holocene maximum in regional rainfall and the stabilisation and subsequent regression of the sea-level. These boundary conditions induced the highest rates of peat accumulation of coastal peat domes. The Late Holocene sea-level regression led to extensive new land availability that allowed for continued coastal peat dome formation until the present. The time weighted mean Holocene peat accumulation rate is 0.54 mm yr^?1 for Central Kalimantan, 1.89 mm yr^?1 for Kutai and 1.77 mm yr^?1 for coastal domes of Sumatra and Borneo. The mean Holocene carbon sequestration rates amount to 31.3 g C m^?2 yr^?1 for Central Kalimantan and 77.0 g C m^?2 yr^?1 for coastal sites, which makes coastal peat domes of south-east Asia the spatially most efficient terrestrial ecosystem in terms of long term carbon sequestration.     

Testing models of mid to late Holocene sea-level change,North Queensland,Australia

Understanding the nature of global ice-equivalent eustatic sea-level changes during the mid to late Holocene is important to our understanding of how ice sheets will respond to future climate change. This study re-analyses the indicative meaning and age control of existing relative sea-level (RSL) data from Cleveland Bay, North Queensland, Australia and presents new RSL data from a foraminifera-based transfer function as a preliminary test of global geophysical models in this region during the mid to late Holocene. The foraminifera-based transfer function produces reliable RSL estimates, consistent through the mid to late Holocene at different locations in Cleveland Bay. Analysis of the combined RSL database reveals that RSL rose above present between 8 and 6.2 ka cal. BP, with the peak of the sea-level highstand c. 2.8 m above present at c. 5 ka cal. BP, remaining relatively stable above +1.5 m from 6.2 until at least 2.3 ka cal. BP, falling to present in the last millennia. This long period of sea level above present in the mid to late Holocene suggests a gradual rather than abrupt end to global ice melt, which must have continued into the late Holocene. This new analysis also shows no evidence for episodic fluctuations within the highstand, although they cannot be entirely ruled out by this study. This study demonstrates that more sea-level data needs to be collected from locations uncontaminated by glacio-isostasy, hydro-isostasy and tectonic effects, in order to better constrain the late Holocene melt histories of the large polar ice sheets.     

南海诸岛全新世珊瑚礁演化的特征

本文概括了南海诸岛珊瑚礁的分布,礁体地形、地貌和地质的一般特征,论述了老灰沙岛、新灰沙岛和礁坪等几类典型的全新世珊瑚礁礁体演化的基本过程,讨论了全新世珊瑚礁演化与季风、气候和海平面的关系。礁坪是随着冰后期海平面上升在晚更新世侵蚀面上堆积的,全新世中期高海面出现前后分别形成老灰沙岛和新灰沙岛。     

中国全新世海平面变化周期与世界未来海平面变化规律

从发现海滩岩断代序列模式后,通过多学科综合研究又发现气候变化周期、闽粤海岸升降周期和海平面变化周期等皆为500a 左右。在13000aB.P.前中国气候变暖,海平面为以上升为主的升降期;近6000多年海平面以周期性上下波动为特征;而近3100年寒冷气候以每1000年7个纬度的速度南移,海平面向上波动幅度变小。按气候变化周期,现阶段为变寒期,将抵消一部分“温室效应”,世界未来50—100年的海面可能与今持平或有所下降。按照冰期和间冰期的时间规律,未来6000—7000年的海平面将下降几十米。     

Middle and late Holocene sea-levels along the Israel Mediterranean coast — evidence from ancient water wells

During the course of a study of historical water wells along the Israeli shore, which has been in progress since 1984, an innovative method for investigating sea-level fluctuations was developed. Eighteen ancient water wells were re-dug, 14 by the author, and four by archaeologists. Most of the re-dug wells are found at archaeological sites located a very short distance inland from the present shoreline. Evidence of ancient ground-water levels found in the wells directly reflects on historic eustatic sea-level changes, and the rate at which the end of the post-glacial transgression advanced. A critical question concerns the durability and life span of these wells, as the true age is very important for the accurate reconstruction of a sea-level curve. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic well of Atlit-Yam, which is the oldest known well in the world (ca. 8000 yr old), enabled the most accurate sea-level reconstruction for early Holocene times. Sea-level rise during that period of the Atlit-Yam site was of the order of 20 mm yr⁻¹ at the beginning, slowing to 6–8 mm yr⁻¹ at the abandonment of this site at ca. 7.5 ka BP, when it was flooded by the advancing and rising sea. After reaching its present level, sea-level fluctuations for the past 2.5 millennia were not greater than 1.5 to 2 m. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Song Hong (Red River) delta evolution related to millennium-scale Holocene sea-level changes

The Song Hong (Red River) delta occurs on the northwest coast of the South China Sea. Its evolution in response to Holocene sea-level changes was clarified on the basis of sedimentary facies and 14 radiocarbon dates from the 40 m long Duy Tien core from the delta plain, and using previously reported geological, geomorphological, and archaeological data. The delta prograded into the drowned valley as a result of early Holocene inundation from 9 to 6 cal. kyr BP, as sea-level rise decelerated. The sea-level highstand at +2–3 m from 6 to 4 cal. kyr BP allowed widespread mangrove development on the delta plain and the formation of marine notches in the Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh areas. During sea-level lowering after 4 cal. kyr BP, the former delta plain emerged as a marine terrace, and the delta changed into the present tide- and wave-influenced delta with accompanying beach ridges. Delta morphology, depositional pattern, and sedimentary facies are closely related to Holocene sea-level changes. In particular, falling sea level at 4 cal. kyr BP had a major impact on the evolution of the Song Hong delta, and is considered to be linked to climate changes.     

Response of reef coral communities to sea-level rise: a Holocene model from Mauritius (Western Indian Ocean)

The fringing reef at Pointe-au-Sable (Mauritius, Indian Ocean) was used to examine the effects of Holocene sea-level rise on coral growth. This reef is about 1000 m wide and comprises a forereef slope (30 m maximum depth), a narrow reef crest and a very shallow backreef (1·5 m maximum depth). Four major coral communities were recognized, which developed within relatively narrow depth ranges: a Pachyseris/Oulophyllia community (deeper than 20 m), an Acropora‘tabulate’Faviid community (20–6 m); a robust branching Acropora community (less than 6 m) and a Pavona community (less than 10m). Three high-recovery cores show the Holocene reef sequence is a maximum of 19·3 m thick and comprises four coral biofacies which are similar to counterparts identified in modern communities: robust branching, tabular-branching, robust branching-domal and foliaceous coral facies. A minimum sea-level curve for the past 7500 years was constructed. Using distribution patterns of coral biofacies and radiocarbon dates from corals, reconstruction of reef growth history indicates that both offshore and onshore reef zones were developing coevally, aggrading at rates of 4·3 mm year^?1 from 6900 years B.P. The reef caught up with sea-level only after sea-level stabilized. Changes in coral community and reef growth rates were driven principally by increasing water agitation due to the decrease in accommodation space. Based on the composition of the successive coral assemblages, the reef appears to have grown through successive equilibrium stages.     

Seismic stratigraphy and depositional history of the Büyükçekmece Bay since Latest Pleistocene,Marmara Sea,Turkey

High-resolution seismic data shed light on latest Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentation beneath the Büyükçekmece Bay, northern shelf area of the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Discontinuous fluvio-marine and marine deposits overlying the erosional truncation surface of Oligocene–Lower Miocene deposits are as thick as 30 m and preserved preferentially within the incised valleys that were controlled by some old faults. A series of prograding shoreline, laterally passing to the latest Pleistocene–Holocene valley-fill deposits, are thought to have accumulated mainly during times of shoreline transgression and sea-level rise. The overall morphology and stratigraphic setting observed in the Büyükçekmece Bay and at the southern outlet of the Bosphorus Strait have nearly same characteristics, implying that similar hydrodynamic conditions, erosional and depositional processes were mainly under the control of strong northerly flows during the Late Quaternary. These flows were less powerful in the Büyükçekmece region with decreased sediment input and smaller accommodation space.     

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 170 m elevation just after 8000 cal yr BP to 60 m elevation by the mid Holocene (~ 5200 cal yr BP). The rate of sea-level fall decreased in the mid and late Holocene, with sea level falling 30 m since 3000 cal 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 ± 1.5 mm/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 ~ 3.4 km. This is a 30–35% thickness reduction of the ICE-5G ice-sheet history west of Hudson Bay.     

东海陆架全新统高分辨率层序地层学研究

在高分辨率１４Ｃ测年、岩石、生物、化学、同位素、气候及磁性地层学研究成果基础上,通过不同沉积背景典型钻孔的沉积学分析,运用层序地层学理论,对东海陆架全新统进行了高分辨率层序划分及对比;建立了全新世层序地层格架及海平面变化过程;提出了相应的层序成因模式。研究结果表明,东海陆架全新统相当于一个发育中的六级（１～１０ｋａ）层序,可进一步划分为３个七级（０．１～１ｋａ）层序和若干个更次级层序。代表１个六级或３个七级周期相对海平面变化过程中叠加有若干更次级的海平面波动,它们与地球旋回谱系中的太阳带、历法带密切相关。七级层序具有与三级层序相近的内部构型和成因格架。在东海陆架全新世沉积演化过程中,长江三角州至少有３次不同程度地越过东海陆架进入冲绳海槽,并滞留有至少３层海侵改造“残积砂”沉积。在东海陆架全新世海平面变化期间,最大海平面时期为约距今６～５ｋａ,大致高于现今海平面２～４ｍ,最低海平面在距今１０ｋａ左右,大约低于现今海平面１３０ｍ。目前,由于温室效应的影响,海平面仍呈小幅度波浪式上升。事实证明,层序地层学不仅丰富了现代海洋沉积学的内容,而且解决了许多海洋沉积学未能解决的问题。