Land subsidence and sea level rise on the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States

Land subsidence due to decline in head in confined aquifers, related to municipal and industrial water pumpage, is widespread in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Although not a major engineering problem, subsidence greatly complicates adjustment of precise leveling and distorts prediction of future sea-level rise. When preconsolidation stress equivalent to about 20 m of head decline is exceeded compaction of fine-grained sediments of the aquifer system begins, and continues until a new head equilibrium is attained between fine and coarse units. The ratio subsidence/head decline is quite consistent, ranging from 0.0064 in southeastern Virginia to 0.0018 at Dover, Delaware and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Higher values are related to the occurrence of montmorillonite as the predominant clay mineral present. Review of tide gauge records indicates that gauges not affected by land subsidence or other local secular effects have been sinking relative to sea level since 1940 at rates averaging about 2.5 mm/yr, of which 0.6 mm/yr is ascribed to glacio-isostatic adjustment to unloading of North America resulting from melting of late Pleistocene glaciers, and about 0.9 mm/yr is ascribed to steric sea-level rise related to ocean warming. The residual 1 mm/yr of relative sea-level rise is not well understood, but may be related to regional tectonic subsidence of the Atlantic coast.     

Oscillations of sea level rise along the Atlantic coast of North America north of Cape Hatteras

It is shown in the short comment that the sea levels are oscillating about a longer-term trend and that the sea level rise (SLR) computed with time windows of 20, 30 or 60?years also oscillates, with the amplitude of these latter oscillations reducing as the time window increases. The use of only two values of the SLR distribution is misleading to infer conclusions about the accelerating behaviour. In particular, the comparison of the 30-year SLR 1950?C1979 with the 30-year SLR 1980?C2009 for the tide gauges along the Atlantic coast of North America north of Cape Hatteras to infer an accelerating behaviour is particularly wrong because the 30-year time window is a too short interval to appreciate the longer-term sea level trend cleared of the multi-decadal oscillations, and the two values from the SLR distribution are computed, respectively, at the times of a valley and a peak for the 60-year Atlantic Ocean multi-decadal oscillation. By using a 60-year time window or all the data since opening when more than 60?years of recording are available and by analysing the SLR time history, the only conclusion that can be inferred from the analysis of the tide gauges along the North American Atlantic coast is that the sea levels are oscillating without too much of a positive acceleration along their longer-term trend.     

Late Quaternary glacio- and hydro-isostasy, on a layered earth

Isostatic response of the Earth to changes in Quaternary Times of ice and water loads is partly elastic, and partly involves viscous mantle flow. The relaxation spectrum of the Earth, critical for estimation of the mantle flow component, is estimated from published determinations of Fennoscandian and Laurentide rebound, and of the nontidal acceleration of the Earth's rotation. The spectrum is consistent with an asthenosphere viscosity around 10²¹P, and a viscosity around 10²³P below 400 km depth. Calculation of relaxation effects is done by convoluting the load history with the response function in spherical harmonics for global effects, and in rectangular or cylindrical transforms for smaller regional effects. Broad-scale deformation of the globe, resulting from the last deglaciation and sea level rise, is calculated to have involved an average depression of ocean basins of about 8 m, and mean upward movement of continents of about 16 m, relative to the center of the Earth, in the last 7000 yr. Deflection in the ocean margin “hinge zone” varies with continental shelf geometry and rigidity of the underlying lithosphere: predictions are made for different model cases. The computational methods is checked by predicting Fennoscandian and Laurentide postglacial warping, from published estimates of icecap histories, with good results. The depth variations of shorelines formed around 17,000 BP (e.g., North America, 90–130 m; Australia, 130–170 m), are largely explainable in terms of combined elastic and relaxation isostasy. Differences between Holocene eustatic records from oceanic islands (Micronesia, Bermuda), and continental coasts (eastern North America, Australia), are largely but not entirely explained in the same terms.     

Late Devensian and Holocene relative sea‐level change in North Wales,UK

Deglacial sea‐level index points defining relative sea‐level (RSL) change are critical for testing glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model output. Only a few observations are available from North Wales and until recently these provided a poor fit to GIA model output for the British‐Irish Ice Sheet. We present results of an integrated offshore geophysical (seismic reflection), coring (drilling rig), sedimentological, micropalaeontological (foraminifera), biostratigraphical (palynology) and geochronological (AMS ¹⁴C) investigation into a sequence of multiple peat/organic sediment horizons interbedded within a thick estuarine–marine sequence of minerogenic clay‐silts to silty sands from the NE Menai Strait, North Wales. Ten new sea‐level index points and nine new limiting dates from the Devensian Late‐glacial and early Holocene are integrated with twelve pre‐existing Holocene sea‐level index points and one limiting point from North Wales to generate a regional RSL record. This record is similar to the most recent GIA predictions for North Wales RSL change, supporting either greater ice load and later deglaciation than in the GIA predictions generated before 2004, or a modified eustatic function. There is no evidence for a mid‐Holocene highstand. Tidally corrected RSL data indicate initial breaching of the Menai Strait between 8.8 and 8.4 ka BP to form a tidal causeway, with final submergence between 5.8 and 4.6 ka BP. Final breaching converted the NE Menai Strait from a flood‐dominated estuary into a high energy ebb tidal delta with extensive tidal scouring of pre‐existing Late‐glacial and Holocene sequences. The study confirms the value of utilising offshore drilling/coring technology to recover sea‐level records which relate to intervals when rates of both eustatic and isostatic change were at their greatest, and therefore of most value for constraining GIA models. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glacial rebound and relative sea levels in Europe from tide-gauge records

Relative sea levels recorded by tide gauges during the past century in northern Europe are dominated by isostatic readjustment of the land following the latest deglaciation of Scandinavia and Scotland. Maximum relative uplift of the land is centered near the northern Gulf of Bothnia (at a rate of 6–7 mm/yr), with a smaller secondary maximum over Scotland (also at a rate of 6–7 mm/yr). Although there probably is a relaxing peripheral bulge surrounding the regions of maximum uplift, such a former bulge is poorly defined by coastal tide gauges; in the North Sea evidence for sinking of a former peripheral bulge of glacial origin is complicated by post-Carboniferous basin deepening with sediment loading and possible rejuvenation associated with glaciation. Other data (gravity, radiocarbon, geomorphology) support the interpretation that glacial isostasy controls the structure of relative sea-level change. Included in this pattern of relative rise of land is a eustatic signal that biases the estimates of glacial rebound. Such a eustatic signal could not be isolated from the isostatic signal using the present data, but glacial isostasy clearly is a major control for relative sea levels of the region.

Absence of significant higher frequency (2–50 yr) cycles in mean annual sea levels of northern Europe reflects the complex hydrologic/oceanographic forces to which sea levels must respond. Whereas other coastal regions show significant higher frequency peaks in the energy spectra of relative sea levels, the many marginal seas in northern Europe preclude a clear relation between hydrologic/oceanographic forcing and relative sea levels, although this relation must exist on a more local scale.     

Sea-level rise and shoreline retreat of the Nile Delta promontories,Egypt

Studies of the Nile Delta coast have indicated wide values of local subsidence, ranging from 0.4 to 5 mm/yr. Trend analysis of sea-level rise and shoreline retreat at two Nile Delta promontories have been studied. Records from tide gauges at Alexandria (1944–1989) and Port Said (1926–1987), north of the Nile delta coast, indicate a submergence of the land and/or a rise of the sea-level of 2 and 2.4 mm/yr, respectively. Dramatic erosion has occurred on some beaches of the Nile Delta. This is greatest at the tips of the Rosetta and Damietta promontories, with shoreline retreat up to 58 m/yr. Relationship between the shoreline retreat and sea level trends in terms of correlation analysis and application of the Bruun Rule indicates that the sea level rise has, by itself, a relatively minor effect on coastal erosion. The sea-level trend at the Nile delta coast is found to be only one of several effects on shoreline retreat. Major recent effects include a combination of cut-off of sediment supply to the coast by damming the River Nile and local hydrodynamic forces of waves and currents. Estimates of local future sea-level rise by the year 2100 at Alexandria and Port Said, respectively, is expected to be 37.9 and 44.2 cm. These expectations, combined with other factors, could accelerate coastal erosion, inundate wetlands and lowlands, and increase the salinity of lakes and aquifers.     

Sea-level rise and shoreline retreat of the Nile Delta promontories, Egypt

Studies of the Nile Delta coast have indicated wide values of local subsidence, ranging from 0.4 to 5 mm/yr. Trend analysis of sea-level rise and shoreline retreat at two Nile Delta promontories have been studied. Records from tide gauges at Alexandria (1944–1989) and Port Said (1926–1987), north of the Nile delta coast, indicate a submergence of the land and/or a rise of the sea-level of 2 and 2.4 mm/yr, respectively.Dramatic erosion has occurred on some beaches of the Nile Delta. This is greatest at the tips of the Rosetta and Damietta promontories, with shoreline retreat up to 58 m/yr. Relationship between the shoreline retreat and sea level trends in terms of correlation analysis and application of the Bruun Rule indicates that the sea level rise has, by itself, a relatively minor effect on coastal erosion. The sea-level trend at the Nile delta coast is found to be only one of several effects on shoreline retreat. Major recent effects include a combination of cut-off of sediment supply to the coast by damming the River Nile and local hydrodynamic forces of waves and currents. Estimates of local future sea-level rise by the year 2100 at Alexandria and Port Said, respectively, is expected to be 37.9 and 44.2 cm. These expectations, combined with other factors, could accelerate coastal erosion, inundate wetlands and lowlands, and increase the salinity of lakes and aquifers.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001302

We present relative sea level （RSL） curves in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment （GIA）predictions based on the melting scenarios of the Antarctic ice sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）given in previous works.Simultaneously,Holocene-age RSL observations obtained at the raised beaches along the coast of Antarctica are shown to be in agreement with the GIA predictions.The differences from previously published ice-loading models regarding the spatial distribution and total mass change of the melted ice are significant.These models were also derived from GIA modelling; the variations can be attributed to the lack of geological and geographical evidence regarding the history of crustal movement due to ice sheet evolution.Next,we summarise the previously published ice load models and demonstrate the RSL curves based on combinations of different ice and earth models.The RSL curves calculated by GIA models indicate that the model dependence of both the ice and earth models is significantly large at several sites where RSL observations were obtained.In particular,GIA predictions based on the thin lithospheric thickness show the spatial distributions that are dependent on the melted ice thickness at each sites.These characteristics result from the short-wavelength deformation of the Earth.However,our predictions strongly suggest that it is possible to find the average ice model despite the use of the different models of lithospheric thickness.By sea level and crustal movement observations,we can deduce the geometry of the post-LGM ice sheets in detail and remove the GIA contribution from the crustal deformation and gravity change observed by space geodetic techniques,such as GPS and GRACE,for the estimation of the Antarctic ice mass change associated with recent global warming.     

Coastal landscape evolution tracked from late Holocene wave-cut benches in the Sinan Archipelago,Southwest Korea

Glacio-isostatic adjustment(GIA)and tectonic activity are important factors in the formation of marine terraces.Late Holocene wave-cut benches in the eastern part of the West Sea of Korea,also called the Yellow Sea,can be divided into two steps:531 cm above sea level(ASL)for the upper bench(T2)and 464-481 cm ASL for the lower bench(T1).Sediments on the benches a re classified into four units,and are interpreted to be beach deposits acco rding to gravel shape,textu re,and seaward inclination.The ove rlying sediment indicates that T2 was formed at approximately 530 cm ASL before 2900 yr BP,and T1 at approximately 460-480 cm ASL before 1520 yr BP.Late Holocene(4000-2000 yr BP)relative sea level(RSL)curves based on GIA models are inconsistent with the wave-cut bench elevations.Comparing T1 and T2 benches to the RSL curves of the West Sea,the upper and the lower benches were uplifted by approximately 5-8 m and 4-7 m,respectively.Although the area is several hundred kilometers away from plate boundaries,the high frequency of earthquakes in the West Sea may have induced the uplift of wave-cut benches during the last 2000 years.These indicate that the west coast of the Korean Peninsula(KP)should no longer be considered an area of subsidence,but be assigned to a regime of uplift during the late Holocene.     

A Predictive Model for Locating Early Holocene Archaeological Sites Based on Raised Shell‐Bearing Strata in Southeast Alaska,USA

A predictive model for locating early Holocene archaeological sites in southern Southeast Alaska was developed based on shell‐bearing raised marine deposits. Fieldwork included coring of select‐raised marine strata, measuring their elevations, and radiocarbon dating the associated shell samples within the cores. A subset of the data was used to produce a relative sea‐level curve spanning the Holocene. The relative sea‐level curve suggests that sites favorable for habitation between 9200 and 7000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. should be found 16–22 ± 1 m above present zero tide. The sea‐level curve and new high‐resolution digital elevation models allowed reconstruction of past shorelines at various elevations. Surveys to test the model found and recorded over 70 archaeological sites from present sea level up to 32 m above present zero tide. Eleven new sites were within the targeted elevation range and radiocarbon dated to 9280–6890 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Initial investigations indicate these older sites are rich in microblade and pebble tool technology. The new early Holocene sites indicate more extensive early maritime settlement of Alaska than implied by previous studies and contribute to our understanding of the early movement of people into North America.     

利用T/P海面高度数据校验验潮站地面升降的初步研究

利用TOPEX/Poseidon卫星1993—2001年的海面测高资料提取了上海和江苏临近海域这9年间的绝对海面变化信息，并与该区域6个验潮站的同时段潮位记录数据进行了对比分析。研究结果表明根据T/P海面高度数据提取的月均海面变化曲线与同海区验潮站测得的同期海面变化过程具有相当好的一致性和同步性，但是根据潮位序列得出的9年平均海面上升速率值均大于根据卫星资料得出的上升速率值。由于卫星测高数据是严格建立在地心坐标基础上的，因此二者的差异在很大程度上应与验潮站所在地点的地面沉降有关。值得注意的是经过地面沉降校正的上海吴淞验潮站数据得出的9年平均海面上升速率值仅比卫星测高结果大0. 43 mm/a，而江苏省射阳河口至三条巷之间5个未经地面沉降校正的验潮站得出海面上升速率与卫星测高结果之间的差值在0.95～3.01 cm/a之间，并呈向北递增趋势。这一对比结果反映该岸段近期的地面沉降速率可能有自南向北增大的趋势，其量值有可能达到年厘米量级。     

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.     

Late Quaternary evolution of coastal sand Barriers, Port Stephens-Myall Lakes Area, central New South Wales, Australia

The geomorphic and stratigraphic history of six coastal embayments has been studied in the vicinity of Newcastle, New South Wales (N.S.W.), Australia, in order to determine modes of deposition, and the degree to which marine and estuarine deposits can be correlated and dated. Each embayment possesses its own distinctive suite of landforms ranging from those dominated by coastal dunes to those in which beach ridges occur. In four of the bays dual sand barriers, comprising an Inner Barrier and an Outer Barrier, provide the framework for correlation between embayments. Six stages are recognized in the deposition of late Quaternary sediments in this area: (i) Pre-Last Interglacial, involving accumulation of separate composite units consisting of estuarine clays and transgressive dune complexes; (ii) Last Interglacial stage during which Inner Barriers were formed; (iii) Last Glacial reworking of barrier and dune sands by westerly winds; (iv) Postglacial Marine Transgression during which the Outer Barriers were initiated; (v) Mid-Holocene stage following cessation of sea-level rise ca. 6000–6500 yr B.P. on this coast, and involving progradation of Outer Barriers in some embayments; and (vi) Late Holocene episodic eolian reworking of dune complexes and Outer Barriers. The relatively high wave and wind energy as well as the tectonic setting of the central N.S.W. coast results in somewhat different geomorphic histories from barrier-island coasts in North America and Europe.     

Coral microatoll as geodetic tool in North Andaman and Little Andaman,India

Coral microatolls were examined from North Andaman and Little Andaman to understand the relative sea level change due to vertical tectonic deformation above the subduction interface. The highest level of survival of coral microatoll before the 26 December, 2004 earthquake at eastern coast of North Andaman has been determined by Global Ocean Tide Model. The present position of recently dead flat top microatoll with preserved internal structure at the eastern coast of North Andaman mainland indicates 31.21 cm uplift due to the 26 December, 2004 earthquake. Comparatively old cup shaped microatoll at the eastern fringe of North Andaman group of islands and highly bioeroded fossil microatolls at the intertidal zone of Little Andaman bear the signature of permanent vertical deformation in the past.     

闽南、粤东全新世海平面变化

本文对7类古海面标志物的137个样品年龄数据进行沉积深度校正、构造升降幅度校正和潮差校正后,绘出闽南、粤东全新世以来海平面变化曲线。闽南、粤东出现全新世第一次高海面时间为6300aB.P.前后。闽南、粤东全新世海平面变化曲线反映海水进退的波动情况基本相似。海平面发生波动的时间从东往西逐渐推迟。海平面变化曲线与硅藻垂向变化、孢粉所反映的气候变化、滨岸沙堤形成期和古文化遗址堆积的变化有较好的一致性。     

Rate and mode of retrogradation on rocky coasts in Victoria, Australia, and their relationship to sea level changes

To understand how the present sea impresses a record of its level on the coast is a prerequisite for reading the records of past sea levels. A first approximation for mean rates of coastal retrogradation since the Flandrian Transgression on the microtidal, open ocean, Meditrerranean- climate coast of Western victoria is: (1) Penultimate Glacial basalt 0 cm/yr (no change in gross geometry in spite of quarrying and channel formation). (2)Last Interglacial aeolianite 4 cm/yr. (3) Lower Cretaceous arkose 0.9 cm/yr (4) Lower Cretaceous siltstone 1.75 cm/yr. The rates are so divergent that the record of sea level changes is impressed quite differently on these respective lithologies.     

Postglacial relative sea‐level observations from Ireland and their role in glacial rebound modelling

The British Isles have been the focus of a number of recent modelling studies owing to the existence of a high‐quality sea‐level dataset for this region and the suitability of these data for constraining shallow earth viscosity structure, local to regional ice sheet histories and the magnitude/timing of global meltwater signals. Until recently, the paucity of both glaciological and relative sea‐level (RSL) data from Ireland has meant that the majority of these glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling studies of the British Isles region have tended to concentrate on reconstructing ice cover over Britain. However, the recent development of a sea‐level database for Ireland along with emergence of new glaciological data on the spatial extent, thickness and deglacial chronology of the Irish Ice Sheet means it is now possible to revisit this region of the British Isles. Here, we employ these new data to constrain the evolution of the Irish Ice Sheet. We find that in order to reconcile differences between model predictions and RSL evidence, a thick, spatially extensive ice sheet of ～600–700 m over much of north and central Ireland is required at the LGM with very rapid deglaciation after 21 k cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detailed documentation of a Holocene sea-level record in the perth region, southern Western Australia

Holocene prograded coastal sequences at Becher/Rockingham, southern Western Australia, contain a detailed record of sea level over the last 6400 yr. Radiocarbon dating and use of a distinct stratigraphic indicator as a sea-level marker permit reconstruction of sea-level history and suggest that the sea was at least 2.5 m above present datum about 6400 yr B.P. before falling to its present level. No evidence was found for eustatic fluctuations of the scale proposed by R. W. Fairbridge [1961, in “Physics and Chemistry of the Earth” (L. H. Ahrens, F. Press, K. Rankema, and S. K. Runcorn, Eds.), Vol. 4, pp. 99–185, Pergamon, Oxford]. The sea-level record preserved on this coast can be explained by hydro-isostasy, tectonism, or eustasy, acting individually or in concert. Without a fixed reference point or analogous data from other locations, a firm conclusion on which mechanism(s) has(have) operated could not be reached. Published sea-level data from this and other coasts are often insufficiently detailed to compare with this study. Application of the techniques of this study to analogous sedimentary sequences elsewhere will provide data of comparable accuracy that would contribute to a more precise understanding of relative sea-level movements in the late Quaternary.     

Mid‐late Holocene sea‐level variability in eastern Australia

A re‐analysis of sea‐level data from eastern Australia based on 115 calibrated C‐14 ages is used to constrain the origin, timing and magnitude of sea‐level change over the last 7000 years. We demonstrate that the Holocene sea‐level highstand of +1.0–1.5 m was reached ～7000 cal yr bp and fell to its present position after 2000 yr bp . These findings are in contrast to most previous studies that relied on smaller datasets and did not include the now common conversion of conventional C‐14 ages to calendar years. During this ～5000 year period of high sea level, growth hiatuses in oyster beds and tubeworms and lower elevations of coral microatolls are interpreted to represent short‐lived oscillations in sea‐level of up to 1 m during two intervals, beginning c. 4800 and 3000 cal yr bp . The rates of sea‐level rise and fall (1–2 mm yr^?1) during these centennial‐scale oscillations are comparable with current rates of sea‐level rise. The origin of the oscillations is enigmatic but most likely the result of oceanographic and climatic changes, including wind strengths, ice ablation, and melt‐water contributions of both Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.