Mid‐ to late Holocene relative sea‐level change in Poole Harbour,southern England

A foraminiferal transfer function for mean tide level (MTL) is used in combination with AMS radiocarbon dated material to construct a record of relative sea‐level (RSL) change from Poole Harbour, southern Britain. These new data, based on multiple cores from duplicate sites, indicate four phases of change during the last 5000 cal. (calendar) yr: (i) rising RSL between ca. 4700 cal. yr BP and ca. 2400 cal. yr BP; (ii) stable to falling RSL from ca. 2400 cal. yr BP until ca. 1200 cal. yr BP; (iii) a brief rise in RSL from ca. 1200 cal. yr BP to ca. 900 cal. yr BP, followed by a period of stability; (iv) a recent increase in the rate of RSL rise from ca. 400–200 cal. yr BP until the present day. In addition, they suggest that the region has experienced long‐term crustal subsidence at a rate of 0.5 mm C¹⁴ yr^?1. Although this can account for the overall rise in MTL observed during the past 2500 yr, it fails to explain the changes in the rate of rise during this period. This implies that the phases of RSL change recorded in the marshes of Poole Harbour reflect tidal range variations or ‘eustatic’ fluctuations in sea‐level. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mid- to late Holocene environmental and climatic changes in New Caledonia, southwest tropical Pacific, inferred from the littoral plain Gouaro-Déva

Multiproxy analysis of three littoral cores from western New Caledonia supports the hypothesis that the main controlling factors of environmental changes are sea-level change, ENSO variability and extra-tropical phenomena, such as the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) marked by a tendency for La Niña-like conditions in the tropical Pacific. The record starts during the late Holocene sea-level rise when the terrestrial vegetation indicated wet and cool conditions. The site was a coastal bay definitely transformed into a freshwater swamp at around 3400 cal yr BP, after the rapid drawdown of sea level to its current level. Sediments and foraminiferal assemblages indicated subsequent episodes of freshwater infillings, emersion or very high-energy conditions, likely related to climatic changes and mostly controlled by ENSO variability. Between 2750 and 2000 cal yr BP, relatively dry and cool climate prevailed, while wetter conditions predominated between ca. 1800 and 900 cal yr BP. The Rhizophoraceae peak between ca. 1080 and 750 cal yr BP, coeval with the MWP, may indicate a global phenomenon. Microcharcoal particles present throughout the record increased after 1500 cal yr BP, suggesting an anthropogenic source. From ca. 750 cal yr BP the appearance of current type of vegetation marks the human impact.     

High-resolution evidence from southern China of an early Holocene optimum and a mid-Holocene dry event during the past 18,000 years

Computer models suggest that the Holocene Optimum for East Asian summer monsoon precipitation occurred at different times in different regions of China. Previous studies indicate that this time-transgressive Holocene Optimum should have been experienced about 3000 yr ago in southern China. In this study we describe a section which allows us to test this timing directly. We have closely examined high-resolution eutrophic peat/mud sequences covering the past 18,000 cal yr at Dahu, Jiangxi, on the southern boundary of the mid subtropical zone in China. Late Pleistocene successions in the Dahu record indicate cooler and much wetter conditions relative to synchronous events in north-central China. Our results indicate that the Holocene Optimum occurred between ca. 10,000 and 6000 cal yr ago in southern China, consistent with the global pattern. Conditions were relatively dry and cold from 6000 to 4000 cal yr ago. Our data also support the conclusion that the last deglaciation to early Holocene in the south was much wetter, resulting in the formation of dense broad-leaved forests, which could have acted to moderate land temperature ∼10,000 to 6000 cal yr ago, yielding a stable early-Holocene climate. After 6000 cal yr, forest reduction led to unstable land temperatures, and possibly to a northerly shift of the subtropical high-pressure system. Whatever the mechanism, these changes resulted in decreased precipitation between 6000 and 4000 cal yr B.P. in southern China.     

Oxygen isotopes of bovid teeth as archives of paleoclimatic variations in archaeological deposits of the Ganga plain, India

Oxygen isotope analysis was performed on enamel phosphate of mammalian teeth from archaeological sites Kalli Pachchhim and Dadupur in the central Ganga plain and Charda in the northern Ganga plain. The bulk oxygen isotopic compositions of enamel phosphate from third molars (M3) of Bos indicus individuals belonging to different cultural periods were used to understand the climatic changes during the past 3600 cal yr B.P. Oxygen isotope ratios indicate humid conditions around 3600 cal yr B.P., followed by a trend toward drier conditions until around 2800 cal yr B.P. Then from 2500 to 1500 cal yr B.P. there is a trend toward higher humidity, followed by the onset of a dry period around 1300 cal yr B.P. The study of intratooth δ¹⁸O variations in teeth from different periods demonstrates that the monsoon seasonality was prominent. Spatial changes in the amount of annual rainfall are also reflected in the δ¹⁸O values. Teeth derived from areas with intense rainfall have lighter isotope ratios compared to teeth from regions receiving less rain, but they show similar seasonal patterns. The long-term paleoclimatic variations reflected by fluctuations in bulk δ¹⁸O_p values from M3 teeth match well with the regional paleoenvironmental records and show a good correlation to the cultural changes that took place during this time span in Ganga plain.     

A 5000 year record of intertidal peat stratigraphy and sea level change from northwest Alaska

Coastal environments of northwest Alaska preserve a detailed record of sea level change during the past 5000 ¹⁴C yr. Rapid burial of intertidal marshes by storm overwash processes, a short open water period, and the arctic maritime climate contribute to the preservation of marine and eolian facies. Eustatic and storm-controlled changes in sea level can be identified from interbedded sequences of marsh peat and coastal flood deposits on barrier islands and estuaries along northwest Seward Peninsula. Mean eustatic sea level has risen about 1.5 m during the last 5000 years, at an average of ca. 0.028 cm yr⁻¹, based on the depth and age relationship of a suite of 23 peat horizons sampled from a 140 km-long reach of coast. Nearshore erosion and sedimentation are controlled by secular variations in wave climate. Peaks in tidal amplitude and storminess correlate with transgressive sedimentary regimes and occurred during the periods 3300–1700, 1200–900, and since about 400 ¹⁴C yr BP. Short-term fluctuations in relative sea level are superimposed on the long-term regional eustatic trend, and record the coastal response to variable rates of sea-level change during the late Holocene.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Holocene lateral expansion and carbon accumulation of Luovuoma, a northern fen in Finnish Lapland

Holocene lateral expansion and carbon accumulation within Luovuoma, a northern fen in Finnish Lapland, were examined utilizing stratigraphy, peat properties such as humification and macrofossil composition, 58 radiocarbon dates and the carbon content of 31 volumetric samples, in an attempt to understand variations in carbon accumulation over time. Paludification started about 9800 years ago. The lateral expansion of the mire was most rapid during phases subsequent to the first signs of paludification, with the result that by 5000 cal. yr BP 79% of the present area of Luovuoma supported mire vegetation. The mire initially expanded laterally at a relatively fast rate with an irregular outline, and only gradually attained its more regular existing form. This is corroborated by the amounts of carbon accumulated during different times: 58% of the carbon had formed before the time point of 5000 cal. yr BP. The long-term net carbon accumulation rate, based on the vertical and lateral growth of the peat deposit, was 11.8 g C/m²/yr. Variations in carbon accumulation rates can be explained to a great extent by natural succession and variable local conditions, but the role of climate cannot be ignored. A marked decline in average carbon accumulation rates (from 26 to 9 g C/m²/yr) during the period between 7800 and 4900 cal. yr BP may indicate a relatively dry and warm climate. The levelling out and subsequent increase in carbon accumulation rates after 4900 cal. yr BP, with special reference to the youngest areas of Luovuoma, indicates a change to a predominantly cooler and moister climate. The stratigraphy of Luovuoma suggests that carbon exchange and accumulation by the mire has always been sensitive to climatic fluctuations, which have been characteristic of the entire Holocene.     

Rates of Holocene isostatic uplift and relative sea-level lowering of the Baltic in SW Finland based on studies of isolation contacts

Southwestern Finland was covered by the Weichselian ice sheet and experienced rapid glacio-isostatic rebound after early Holocene deglaciation. The present mean overall apparent uplift rate is of the order of 4-5 mm/yr, but immediately after deglaciation the rate of crustal rebound was several times higher. Concurrently with land uplift, relative sea level in the Baltic basin during the past more than 8000 years was also strongly affected by the eustatic changes in sea level. There is ample evidence from earlier studies that during the early Litorina Sea stage on the southeastern coast of Finland around 7000 yr BP (7800 cal. yr BP), the rise in sea level exceeded the rate of land uplift, resulting in a short-lived transgression. Because of a higher rate of uplift, the transgression was even more short-lived or of negligible magnitude in the southwestern part of coastal Finland, but even in this latter case a slowing down in the rate of regression can still be detected. We used evidence from isolation basins to obtain a set of 71 ¹⁴C dates, and over 30 new sea-level index points. The age-elevation data, obtained from lakes in two different areas and located between c. 64 m and 1.5 m above present sea level, display a high degree of internal consistency. This suggests that the dates are reliable, even though most of them were based on bulk sediment samples. The two relative sea-level curves confirm the established model of relatively gradually decreasing rates of relative sea-level lowering since c. 6100 yr BP (7000 cal. yr BP) and clearly indicate that the more northerly of the two study areas experienced the higher rate of glacio-isostatic recovery. In the southerly study area, changes in diatom assemblages and lithostratigraphy suggest that during the early Litorina Sea stage (8300-7600 cal. yr BP) eustatic sea-level rise exceeded land uplift for hundreds of years. Evidence for this transgression was discovered in a lake with a basin threshold at an elevation of 41 m above sea level, which is markedly higher than any previously known site with evidence for the Litorina transgression in Finland. We also discuss evidence for subsequent short-term fluctuations superimposed on the main trends of relative sea-level changes.     

Holocene humidity fluctuations in Sweden inferred from dendrochronology and peat stratigraphy

Tree-ring and peat stratigraphy data were examined back to 5000 BC in order to identify and compare humidity changes in Fennoscandia. The temporal variation in distribution of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) was used as a measure of past lake-level fluctuations in central Sweden. The chronology, which spans 2893 BC–AD 1998 with minor gaps in AD 887–907 and 1633–1650 BC and with additional floating chronologies back to 4868 BC, was cross-dated and fixed to an absolute timescale using a chronology from Torneträsk, northern Sweden. The peat stratigraphy from the Stömyren peat bog, south-central Sweden, was transformed into humification indices to evaluate humidity changes during the past 8000 years. The peat chronology is established by four tephra datings and eight ¹⁴C datings. Synchronous periods of drier conditions, interpreted from regeneration and the mortality pattern of pine, tree-ring chronology and peat humification, were recognized at c. 4900–4800 BC, 2400–2200 BC, 2100–1800 BC, 1500–1100 BC, AD 50–200, AD 400–600 and AD 1350–1500. Possible wetter periods were encountered at 3600–3400 BC, 3200–2900 BC, 2200–2100 BC, 1700–1500 BC, 1100–900 BC, 100 BC-AD 50, AD 200–400, AD 750–900 and AD 1550–1700. The wet and dry periods revealed by the tree rings and peat stratigraphy data indicate considerable humidity changes in the Holocene.     

Relative sea-level rise and climate change over the last 1500 years

We constructed a detailed relative sea-level rise curve for the last 1500 years using a novel approach, i.e. charting the rate of relative sea-level rise using microfaunal and geochemical data from a coastal salt marsh sequence (Clinton, CT, USA). The composition of benthic foraminiferal assemblages and the iron abundance in peats were used to describe shifts in marsh environment through time quantitatively. The resulting sea-level rise curve, with age control from ¹⁴C dating and the onset of anthropogenic metal pollution, shows strong increases in the rate of relative sea-level rise during modern global warming (since the late nineteenth century), but not during the Little Climate Optimum (ad 1000–1300). There was virtually no rise in sea-level during the Little Ice Age (ad 1400–1700). Most of the relative sea-level rise over the last 1200 years in Clinton appears to have occurred during two warm episodes that jointly lasted less than 600 years. Changes from slow to fast rates of relative sea-level rise apparently occurred over periods of only a few decades. We suggest that changes in ocean circulation could contribute to the sudden increases in the rate of relative sea-level rise along the northeastern USA seaboard. Relative sea-level rise in that area is currently faster than the worldwide average, which may result partially from an ocean surface effect caused by hydrodynamics. Our data show no unequivocal correlation between warm periods (on a decaal to centennial time-scale) and accelerated sea-level rise. One period of acclerated sea-level rise may have occurred between about ad 1200 and 1450, which was the transition for the Little Climate Optimum to the Little Ice Age, i.e. a period of cooling (at least in northwestern Europe). Local changes in tidal range might also have contributed to this apparent increase in the rate of relative sea-level, however. The second period of accelerated sea-level rise occurred during the period of modern global warming that started at the end of the last century.     

An 8000-year record of vegetation, climate, and human disturbance from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador

An ∼8000-cal-yr stratigraphic record of vegetation change from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador, documents a mid-Holocene warm phase, followed by late Holocene cooling. Pollen evidence reveals that during the mid-Holocene (∼8000-5500 cal yr B.P.) lowland tropical plant taxa were growing at elevations ∼200-250 m higher than at present, suggesting conditions about 1.0°C warmer than those prevailing today. Cloud forest genera (Liquidambar, Juglans, Alnus, Ulmus) were also more abundant in the mid-Holocene, indicating greater cloud cover during the dry season. A gradual cooling and drying trend began by ∼5500 cal yr B.P., culminating in the modern forest composition by ∼3500 cal yr B.P. A rise in pollen from weedy plant taxa associated with agriculture occurred ∼5000 cal yr B.P., and pollen from Zea first appeared in the record at ∼4440 cal yr B.P. Human impacts on local vegetation remained high throughout the late Holocene, but decreased abruptly following the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption of Volcán Ilopango at ∼1520 cal yr B.P. The past 1500 years are marked by higher lake levels and periodic depositions of exogenous inorganic sediments, perhaps indicating increased climatic variability.     

Holocene Climate Inferred from Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Lake Sediments, Central Brooks Range, Alaska

Analyses of sediment cores from two lakes in the central Brooks Range provide temperature and moisture balance information for the past 8500 cal yr at century-scale resolution. Two methods of oxygen isotope analysis are used to reconstruct past changes in the effective moisture (precipitation minus evaporation) and temperature. Effective moisture is inferred from oxygen isotope ratios in sediment cellulose from Meli Lake (area 0.13 km², depth 19.4 m). The lake has a low watershed-to-lake-area ratio (7) and significant evaporation relative to input. Summer temperature shifts are based on oxygen isotope analyses of endogenic calcite from Tangled Up Lake (area 0.25 km², depth 3.5 m). This basin has a larger watershed-to-lake-area ratio (91) and less evaporation relative to input. Sediment oxygen isotope analyses from the two sites indicate generally more arid conditions than present prior to 6000 cal yr B.P. Subsequently, the region became increasingly wet. Temperature variability is recorded minimally at centennial scale resolution with values that are generally cool for the past 6700 cal yr. The timing and direction of climate variability indicated by the oxygen isotope time series from Meli and Tangled Up lakes are consistent with previously established late Holocene glacier advances at 5000 cal yr B.P. in the central Brooks Range, and high lake-levels at Birch Lake since 5500 cal yr B.P. This unique use of oxygen isotopes reveals both moisture balance and temperature histories at previously undetected high-resolution temporal scales for northern Alaska during the middle to late Holocene.     

Holocene sea-level changes and glacio-isostasy in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

Shoreline displacement in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland during the past 9000 radiocarbon years was reconstructed by studying a total of 10 isolated lake and mire basins located in Virolahti in southeastern Finland and on the Karelian Isthmus, and in Ingermanland in Russia. Study methods were diatom analyses, sediment lithostratigraphical interpretation and radiocarbon dating. In southeastern Finland, the marine (Litorina) transgression maximum occurred ca. 6500–6200 ¹⁴C yr BP (7400–7100 cal. yr BP). In areas of the slower land uplift rate on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ingermanland, the transgression maximum occurred ca. 6400–6000 ¹⁴C yr BP (7300–6800 cal. yr BP). The highest Litorina shoreline is located at ca. 23 m above present sea-level in southeastern Finland, whereas in the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus, near St. Petersburg, it is located at ca. 8 m above present sea-level. The amplitude of the Litorina transgression in Virolahti area is ca. 4 m, whereas on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ingermanland the amplitude has varied between 5 and 7 m. The regional differences between areas are solely due to different glacio-isostatic land uplift rates. The seven basins studied in this research were connected to the Baltic Sea basin during the Litorina Sea stage and their diatom and lithostratigraphical records indicate a single, smooth Litorina transgression.     

Late Holocene great earthquakes and relative sea‐level change at Kenai,southern Alaska

Kenai, located on the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, subsided during the great earthquake of AD 1964. Regional land subsidence is recorded within the estuarine stratigraphy as peat overlain by tidal silt and clay. Reconstructions using quantitative diatom transfer functions estimate co‐seismic subsidence (relative sea‐level rise) between 0.28±0.28 m and 0.70±0.28 m followed by rapid post‐seismic recovery. Stratigraphy records an earlier co‐seismic event as a second peat‐silt couplet, dated to ～1500–1400 cal. yr BP with 1.14±0.28 m subsidence. Two decimetre‐scale relative sea‐level rises are more likely the result of glacio‐isostatic responses to late Holocene and Little Ice Age glacier expansions rather than to co‐seismic subsidence during great earthquakes. Comparison with other sites around Cook Inlet, at Girdwood and Ocean View, helps in constructing regional patterns of land‐level change associated with three great earthquakes, AD 1964, ～950–850 cal. yr BP and ～1500–1400 cal. yr BP. Each earthquake has a different spatial pattern of co‐seismic subsidence which indicates that assessment of seismic hazard in southern Alaska requires an understanding of multiple great earthquakes, not only the most recent. All three earthquakes show a pre‐seismic phase of gradual land subsidence that marked the end of relative land uplift caused by inter‐seismic strain accumulation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

利用盐沼泥炭重建长江三角洲北部全新世中期海平面

根据对长江三角洲北部海安地区4个钻孔标志性沉积物(潮上带盐沼泥炭、高潮滩沉积)的年龄测定和高程测量,以及沉积物压实沉降量的分析研究,重建了本研究区全新世中期8.1～7.3 cal kyr BP和5.6～5.4 cal kyr BP的相对海平面位置。结果显示,8.1～7.3 cal kyr BP海平面缓慢上升1.46m,上升速率仅为0.2cm/yr, 与三角洲南部全新世早期海平面的快速上升(2cm/yr)形成鲜明对比,验证了冰盖控制下的全球海平面阶段性波动上升模式。对比长江三角洲地区海平面曲线发现,三角洲北部海平面曲线较南部低5～6m,长江三角洲海平面曲线与世界各地海平面曲线也存在明显差异,分析认为主要是由长江口地区的差异性沉降和中国东部边缘海的水均衡作用两个因素引起的。     

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.     

Evidence for Holocene environmental changes in the northern Fertile Crescent provided by pedogenic carbonate coatings

Holocene environmental changes in the northern Fertile Crescent remain poorly understood because of the scarcity of local proxy records in the region. In this study we investigated pedogenic (soil-formed) carbonate coatings on stones at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site Göbekli Tepe as an indicator of local early-mid Holocene environmental changes. The ¹⁴C ages and stable isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen in thin (0.2–0.3 mm thick) pedogenic carbonate lamina indicate two main periods of coating formation: the early-Holocene (ca. 10000–6000 cal yr BP) and the mid-Holocene (ca. 6000–4000 cal yr BP). During the first period, there was an inverse relationship between δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O curves: a decrease in δ¹³C values coincide with an increase in δ¹⁸O values. For this period a trend towards higher temperatures is suggested. In the mid-Holocene, the mean rate of coating growth was 2–3 times higher than in the early Holocene. Both δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O reached their maximum values during this time and the direction of changes of the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O curves became similar. The combination of data suggests that this period was the most humid in the Holocene and on average warmer than the early Holocene. At ca. 4000 cal yr BP secondary accumulation of carbonate ceased, presumably reflecting a shift to a more arid climate.     

Palaeoenvironmental evolution and sea‐level fluctuations along the southeastern Pampa grasslands coast of Argentina during the Holocene

Holocene pollen and diatom analyses and complementary data from δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C, malacology and sedimentology have provided a detailed record of vegetation history and palaeoenvironmental change at arroyo Las Brusquitas, on the southeastern coast of the pampas of Argentina especially in relation to past sea levels. Holocene palaeosalinity trends were estimated by Detrended Correspondence Analysis and by salinity indexes based on pollen and diatom data. As a consequence of sea‐level rise from the postglacial an extensive wave‐cut platform formed over which Holocene infilling sequences were deposited unconformably. In these sequences, variation in pollen and diatom assemblages occurred in agreement with changes in mollusc diversity and abundance, isotope values, and sediment deposits. Between ca. 6700 and 6190 ¹⁴C yr BP (6279–6998 cal. yr BP) saline conditions predominated in an environment highly influenced by tides and salt water during the Holocene sea‐level highstand. Between ca. 6200 and 3900 ¹⁴C yr BP (4235–4608 cal. yr BP) shallow brackish water bodies formed surrounded by saltmarsh vegetation that became more widespread from 5180 ¹⁴C yr BP (5830–6173 cal. yr BP) to 3900 ¹⁴C yr BP in relation to a sea‐level stabilisation period within the regression phase. Less saline conditions marked by frequent variations in salinity predominated between ca. 3900 and 2040 yr ¹⁴C BP (1830–2160 cal. yr BP). The intertidal saltmarsh environment changed into a brackish marsh dominated by freshwater conditions and sporadic tidal influence. Halophytic vegetation increased towards ca. 2000¹⁴C yr BP indicating that saline conditions may be due to either desiccation or an unusually high tide range with rare frequency. After ca. 2000 ¹⁴C yr BP the sedimentary sequences were buried by aeolian sand dunes. Changes in Holocene vegetation and environments in Las Brusquitas area are in agreement with data obtained from various southeastern coastal sites of the Pampa grasslands. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.