Holocene relative sea-level changes along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of northwestern South America

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Paniagua-Arroyave, Juan F., Spada, Giorgio, Melini, Daniele, Duque-Trujillo, José F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2024
• Subjects: Pacific; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2023.73; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S003358942300073X

Abstract Predicting coastal change depends upon our knowledge of postglacial relative sea-level variability, partly controlled by glacio-isostatic responses to ice-sheet melting. Here, we reconstruct the postglacial relative sea-level changes along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of northwestern South America by numerically solving the sea-level equation with two scenarios of mantle viscosity: global standard average and high viscosity. Our results with the standard model (applicable to the Pacific coast) agree with earlier studies by indicating a mid-Northgrippian high stand of ~2 m. The high-viscosity simulation (relevant to the Caribbean coast) shows that the transition from far- to intermediate-field influence of the Laurentide Ice Sheet occurs between Manzanillo del Mar and the Gulf of Morrosquillo. South of this location, the Colombian Caribbean coast has exhibited a still stand with a nearly constant Holocene relative sea level. By analyzing our simulations considering sea-level indicators, we argue that tectonics is more prominent than previously assumed, especially along the Caribbean coast. This influence prevents a simplified view of regional relative sea-level changes on the northwestern South American coast.