A dated cave sediment record of Pleistocene transgressions on Berry Head,Southwest England

Berry Head, a limestone headland in Torbay, southwest England, exhibits a series of subaerial marine erosion platforms and raised beaches spanning an altitude range of 97 m. Solution caves on the headland show preferred horizontal development at elevations that are correlated with the marine erosion platforms, and developed in a marine/freshwater mixing zone whose position was controlled by high sea-level still-stands. Corbridge Cave in Berry Head Quarry lies below the raised beaches in Torbay, and contains evidence of three marine transgressions in the form of fine-grained marine ponding deposits with a marine microfauna. Uranium-series dating of intercalated speleothems indicates that a transgression during oxygen isotope stage 5e reached an elevation of 5.8 m OD, while an earlier transgression (probably during stage 7) reached at least 7.2 m OD. These findings are used to constrain possible interpretations of the aminostratigraphy of raised beaches in Southwest Britain, and a correlation of the Unnamed Stage of Bowen, Sykes, Reeves, Miller, Andrews, Brew and Hare with oxygen isotope stage 5e is proposed.     

Mid-Holocene emergence of southern Tunisian coasts

We present new sea-level data from the coasts of southern Tunisia, between the Gulf of Gabès and the Libyan border. The work tests, previously, published evidence on Holocene shorelines, and confirmed that a distinct emergence has occurred in this area during this time. The emergence peak lies at least 186 ± 11 cm above present and is inferred from: (1) AMS radiocarbon dates of subtidal vermetids and boring shells collected in growth position, and (2) careful assessment of tidal heights. Maximum emergence took place between about 6000 and 5000 ¹⁴C years BP; it cannot be ascribed to tectonics and is probably related to post-glacial hydro-isostatic effects. It challenges the inference of a 3-m global sea-level rise since 6000 years BP due to residual Antarctic melting.     

Storms and shoreline retreat in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Storms play a major role in shoreline recession on transgressive coasts. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), southeastern Canada, long-term relative sea-level rise off the North Shore of Prince Edward Island has averaged 0.3 m/century over the past 6000 years (>0.2 m/century over 2000 years). This has driven long-term coastal retreat at mean rates >0.5 m/a but the variance and details of coastal profile response remain poorly understood. Despite extensive sandy shores, sediment supply is limited and sand is transferred landward into multidecadal to century-scale storage in coastal dunes, barrier washover deposits, and flood-tidal delta sinks. Charlottetown tide-gauge records show mean relative sea-level rise of 3.2 mm/a (0.32 m/century) since 1911. A further rise of 0.7±0.4 m is projected over the next 100 years. When differenced from tidal predictions, the water-level data provide a 90-year record of storm-surge occurrence. Combined with wind, wave hindcast, and sea-ice data, this provides a catalogue of potentially significant coastal storms. We also document coastal impacts from three recent storms of great severity in January and October 2000 and November 2001. Digital photogrammetry (1935–1990) and shore-zone surveys (1989–2001) show large spatial and temporal variance in coastal recession rates, weakly correlated with the storm record, in part because of wave suppression or coastal protection by sea ice. Large storms cause rapid erosion from which recovery depends in part on local sand supply, but barrier volume may be conserved by washover deposition. Barrier shores with dunes show high longshore and interdecadal variance, with extensive multidecadal healing of former inlet and overwash gaps. This reflects recovery from an episode of widespread overwash prior to 1935, possibly initiated by intense storms or groups of storms in the latter half of the 19th century. With evidence from the storms of 2000–2001, this points to the importance of storm clustering on scales of weeks to years in determining erosion vulnerability, as well as the need for a long-term, large-scale perspective in assessing coastal stability. The expected acceleration in relative sea-level rise, together with projections of increasing storm intensity and greatly diminished winter ice cover in the southern GSL, implies a significant increase in coastal erosion hazards in future.     

Variability of organic δC and C/N in the Mersey Estuary, U.K. and its implications for sea-level reconstruction studies

Microfossil analysis (e.g. diatoms, foraminifera and pollen) represents the cornerstone of Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) reconstruction because their distribution in the contemporary inter-tidal zone is principally controlled by ground elevation within the tidal frame. A combination of poor microfossil preservation and a limited range in the sediment record may severely restrict the accuracy of resulting RSL reconstructions. Organic δ¹³C and C/N analysis of inter-tidal sediments have shown some potential as coastal palaeoenvironmental proxies. Here we assess their viability for reconstructing RSL change by examining patterns of organic δ¹³C and C/N values in a modern estuarine environment. δ¹³C and C/N analysis of bulk organic inter-tidal sediments and vegetation, as well as suspended and bedload organic sediments of the Mersey Estuary, U.K., demonstrate that the two main sources of organic carbon to surface saltmarsh sediments (terrestrial vegetation and tidal-derived particulate organic matter) have distinctive δ¹³C and C/N signatures. The resulting relationship between ground elevation within the tidal frame and surface sediment δ¹³C and C/N is unaffected by decompositional changes. The potential of this technique for RSL reconstruction is demonstrated by the analysis of part of an early Holocene sediment core from the Mersey Estuary. Organic δ¹³C and C/N analysis is less time consuming than microfossil analysis and is likely to provide continuous records of RSL change.     

Vegetation change and surface elevation dynamics in estuarine wetlands of southeast Australia

Vertical accretion and surface elevation trends were studied in mangrove and saltmarsh wetlands in southeast Australia. A total of 69 surface elevation tables, each associated with three feldspar marker horizons, was deployed in 10 wetlands across 7 estuaries, and monitored for three years. Saltmarsh and mangrove vegetation distributions were mapped for the same estuaries, and elevation characteristics of the wetlands were modelled. Rates of vertical accretion were found to correlate with tidal range. No relationship was found between rates of vertical accretion and surface elevation increase. A positive relationship was demonstrated between contemporary rates of saltmarsh surface elevation change and longer-term rates of mangrove encroachment into saltmarsh. We conclude that landward mangrove encroachment may be facilitated by local factors contributing to saltmarsh compaction during drought conditions.     

Mid-Holocene evolution and paleoenvironments of the shoreface–offshore transition, north-eastern Argentina: New evidence based on benthic microfauna

A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.     

尼罗河三角洲全新世海平面变动及其对环境的影响——与长江三角洲的对比

利用泥炭(33个)和潟湖(65个)14C测年数据重建了尼罗河三角洲全新世海平面的变动过程,结果显示潟湖样品比泥炭更为有效地反映出海平面变动特征:距今7000a时海平面约位于现今-10m,距今5000a时约为-5m,距离2000a时已接近现代.海侵强度和范围受古地貌和区域沉降的影响呈现出东北部大、中部其次、西部最小.随着海平面上升速率减小,三角洲在约距今7000a时开始建造,并广泛发育潟湖、沙坝和平原河流沉积体系.此后,海平面趋于稳定,人类活动增强,导致海岸沉积环境大片萎缩、消亡.同样利用泥炭(45个)测年数据重建了长江三角洲全新世海平面变动,结果与尼罗河的差异较大,可能是两地沉降差异所致.近代长江三角洲人类活动也是导致环境退化的主要原因.     

关于海平面上升及其环境效应

沿海地区地质环境复杂。由于国民经济的迅速发展,人类活动日益增多,对地质环境进一步造成严重的不利影响。特别是“温室效应”引发的海平面上升,使各种地质灾害更加激化。文章详细探讨了海平面上升的影响因素,理论海平面与相对海平面升降幅度的评估,以及海平面上升所造成的地质环境效应与相应的防治对策,特别强调控制沿海城市地面沉降,以减轻海平面相对上升造成的危害,具有特殊而重要的意义。     

Cyclic palaeokarst surfaces in Aptian peritidal carbonate successions (Taurides, southwest Turkey): internal structure and response to mid-Aptian sea-level fall

The sedimentology and cyclic stratigraphy of palaeokarst structures in Aptian peritidal carbonate successions are interpreted using field and laboratory microfacies analyses of closely spaced samples from measured outcrop stratigraphic sections in southwest Turkey. Cycles displaying shallowing-upward metre-scale cyclicity are generally composed of lime mudstones/wackestones/packestones at the bottom and stromatolites or lime mudstones with charophytes and ostracods at the top. Subaerial exposure structures such as in situ karst breccias, dissolution vugs/pipes, mud cracks and sheet cracks are encountered at the top of the cycles. The presence of limestone layers between the successive karst breccia levels indicates that they are in situ palaeokarst structures, not recent karstifications or deep penetration from the upper palaeokarst surface down to the older strata. Palaeokarst breccia deposits are interpreted as mantling breccia formed as a result of epikarstification. Three main palaeokarst levels are recorded in nearly all sections. The sedimentology of the palaeokarst breccias, their position in cyclic peritidal carbonates and the biostratigraphic framework are used to trace the record of the global mid-Aptian sea-level fall in the southwest Taurides. The successive occurrences of three karst breccia levels close to the mid-Aptian sea-level fall correspond to falling periods of high-amplitude sea-level fluctuation within a late high-stand or early fall condition of a third-order sea level.