Late Holocene sea-level change in Arctic Norway

TY - JOUR

T1 - Late Holocene sea-level change in Arctic Norway

AU - Barnett, Robert L.

AU - Gehrels, W. Roland

AU - Charman, Dan J.

AU - Saher, Margot H.

AU - Marshall, William A.

PY - 2015/1/1

Y1 - 2015/1/1

N2 - Relative sea-level data from the pre-industrial era are required for validating geophysical models of glacio-isostatic adjustment as well as for testing models used to make sea-level predictions based on future climate change scenarios. We present the first late Holocene (past ~3300 years) relative sea-level reconstruction for northwestern Norway based on investigations in South Hinnøya in the Vesterålen - Lofoton archipelago. Sea-level changes are reconstructed from analyses of salt-marsh and estuarine sediments and the micro-organisms (foraminifera and testate amoebae) preserved within. The 'indicative meaning' of the microfauna is established from their modern distributions. Records are dated by radiocarbon, 201Pb, 137Cs and chemostratigraphical analyses. Our results show a continuous relative sea-level decline of 0.7-0.9mmyr-1 for South Hinnøya during the late Holocene. The reconstruction extends the relative sea-level trend recorded by local tide gauge data which is only available for the past ~25 years. Our reconstruction demonstrates that existing models of shoreline elevations and GIA overpredict sea-level positions during the late Holocene. We suggest that models might be adjusted in order to reconcile modelled and reconstructed sea-level changes and ultimately improve understanding of GIA in Fennoscandia.

AB - Relative sea-level data from the pre-industrial era are required for validating geophysical models of glacio-isostatic adjustment as well as for testing models used to make sea-level predictions based on future climate change scenarios. We present the first late Holocene (past ~3300 years) relative sea-level reconstruction for northwestern Norway based on investigations in South Hinnøya in the Vesterålen - Lofoton archipelago. Sea-level changes are reconstructed from analyses of salt-marsh and estuarine sediments and the micro-organisms (foraminifera and testate amoebae) preserved within. The 'indicative meaning' of the microfauna is established from their modern distributions. Records are dated by radiocarbon, 201Pb, 137Cs and chemostratigraphical analyses. Our results show a continuous relative sea-level decline of 0.7-0.9mmyr-1 for South Hinnøya during the late Holocene. The reconstruction extends the relative sea-level trend recorded by local tide gauge data which is only available for the past ~25 years. Our reconstruction demonstrates that existing models of shoreline elevations and GIA overpredict sea-level positions during the late Holocene. We suggest that models might be adjusted in order to reconcile modelled and reconstructed sea-level changes and ultimately improve understanding of GIA in Fennoscandia.

KW - Foraminifera

KW - Geochronology

KW - Glacio-isostatic adjustment

KW - Late Holocene

KW - Salt-marsh

KW - Sea-level reconstruction

KW - Testate amoebae

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84910635761&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.027

DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.027

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84910635761

SN - 0277-3791

VL - 107

SP - 214

EP - 230

JO - Quaternary Science Reviews

JF - Quaternary Science Reviews

ER -