Large Regional Sea-level Oscillations on Human Timescales, Revealed by Mid-Holocene Corals
Abstract
Sea-level rise is a pressing global problem, yet to forecast future changes, we must understand how and why relative sea level (RSL) varied in the past, on local to global scales. In Southeast Asia, details of Holocene RSL are poorly determined. We present two independent high-resolution RSL proxy records from Belitung Island on the Sunda Shelf. These records capture spatial variations in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and paleotidal range, yet both reveal a RSL history between 6800 and 6500 cal yr BP that includes two 0.6 m oscillations, with rates of RSL change reaching 23 mm/yr (19-28 mm/yr at 90% likelihood). Observations along the south coast of China [Yu et al., 2009, Quat. Res. 71, 354-360], although of a lower resolution, reveal oscillations similar in amplitude and timing to the Sunda Shelf. The consistency of the Southeast Asian records, from sites 2600 km apart, suggests that the records reflect regional changes in sea level, driven by fluctuations in regional hydroclimate.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFMOS31B2004M
- Keywords:
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- 4215 Climate and interannual variability;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4263 Ocean predictability and prediction;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4556 Sea level: variations and mean;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL