Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland
We present results from an investigation of relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area in south Greenland from c. 11 000 cal. yr BP to the present. Isolation and transgression sequences from six lakes and two tidal basins have been identified using stratigraphical analyses, magnetic susceptibil...
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ftanucanberra:oai:digitalcollections.anu.edu.au:1885/18377 2023-05-15T15:11:11+02:00 Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland Sparrenbom, Charlotte J. Bennike, Ole Bjorck, Svante Lambeck, Kurt 2015-12-07T22:17:06Z http://hdl.handle.net/1885/18377 unknown Taylor & Francis Group 0300-9483 http://hdl.handle.net/1885/18377 Boreas: an international journal of quaternary research Keywords: fossil glacioisostasy Holocene ice sheet lake level sea level change stratigraphy transgression Arctic Greenland Journal article 2015 ftanucanberra 2015-12-28T23:18:45Z We present results from an investigation of relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area in south Greenland from c. 11 000 cal. yr BP to the present. Isolation and transgression sequences from six lakes and two tidal basins have been identified using stratigraphical analyses, magnetic susceptibility, XRF and macrofossil analyses. Macrofossils and bulk sediments have been dated by AMS radiocarbon dating. Maximum and minimum altitudes for relative sea level are provided from two deglaciation and marine lagoon sequences. Initially, relative sea level fell rapidly and reached present-day level at ∼9000 cal. yr BP and continued falling until at least 8800 cal. yr BP. Between 8000 and 6000 cal. yr BP, sea level reached its lowest level of around 6-8m below highest astronomical tide (h.a.t.). At around 3750 cal. yr BP, sea level has reached above 2.7m below h.a.t. and continued to rise slowly, reaching the present-day level between ∼2000 cal. yr BP and the present. As in the Nanortalik area further south, initial isostatic rebound caused rapid isolation of low elevation basins in the Qaqortoq area. Distinct isolation contacts in the sediments are observed. The late Holocene transgression is less well defined and occurred over a longer time interval. The late Holocene sea-level rise implies reloading by advancing glaciers superimposed on the isostatic signal from the North American Ice Sheet. One consequence of this transgression is that settlements of Palaeo-Eskimo cultures from ∼4000 cal. yr BP may have been transgressed by the sea. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic eskimo* Greenland Ice Sheet Magnetic susceptibility Nanortalik Qaqortoq Australian National University: ANU Digital Collections Arctic Greenland Qaqortoq ENVELOPE(-46.036,-46.036,60.718,60.718) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Australian National University: ANU Digital Collections |
op_collection_id |
ftanucanberra |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Keywords: fossil glacioisostasy Holocene ice sheet lake level sea level change stratigraphy transgression Arctic Greenland |
spellingShingle |
Keywords: fossil glacioisostasy Holocene ice sheet lake level sea level change stratigraphy transgression Arctic Greenland Sparrenbom, Charlotte J. Bennike, Ole Bjorck, Svante Lambeck, Kurt Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
topic_facet |
Keywords: fossil glacioisostasy Holocene ice sheet lake level sea level change stratigraphy transgression Arctic Greenland |
description |
We present results from an investigation of relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area in south Greenland from c. 11 000 cal. yr BP to the present. Isolation and transgression sequences from six lakes and two tidal basins have been identified using stratigraphical analyses, magnetic susceptibility, XRF and macrofossil analyses. Macrofossils and bulk sediments have been dated by AMS radiocarbon dating. Maximum and minimum altitudes for relative sea level are provided from two deglaciation and marine lagoon sequences. Initially, relative sea level fell rapidly and reached present-day level at ∼9000 cal. yr BP and continued falling until at least 8800 cal. yr BP. Between 8000 and 6000 cal. yr BP, sea level reached its lowest level of around 6-8m below highest astronomical tide (h.a.t.). At around 3750 cal. yr BP, sea level has reached above 2.7m below h.a.t. and continued to rise slowly, reaching the present-day level between ∼2000 cal. yr BP and the present. As in the Nanortalik area further south, initial isostatic rebound caused rapid isolation of low elevation basins in the Qaqortoq area. Distinct isolation contacts in the sediments are observed. The late Holocene transgression is less well defined and occurred over a longer time interval. The late Holocene sea-level rise implies reloading by advancing glaciers superimposed on the isostatic signal from the North American Ice Sheet. One consequence of this transgression is that settlements of Palaeo-Eskimo cultures from ∼4000 cal. yr BP may have been transgressed by the sea. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sparrenbom, Charlotte J. Bennike, Ole Bjorck, Svante Lambeck, Kurt |
author_facet |
Sparrenbom, Charlotte J. Bennike, Ole Bjorck, Svante Lambeck, Kurt |
author_sort |
Sparrenbom, Charlotte J. |
title |
Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
title_short |
Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
title_full |
Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Qaqortoq area, southern Greenland |
title_sort |
holocene relative sea-level changes in the qaqortoq area, southern greenland |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1885/18377 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-46.036,-46.036,60.718,60.718) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Qaqortoq |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Qaqortoq |
genre |
Arctic eskimo* Greenland Ice Sheet Magnetic susceptibility Nanortalik Qaqortoq |
genre_facet |
Arctic eskimo* Greenland Ice Sheet Magnetic susceptibility Nanortalik Qaqortoq |
op_source |
Boreas: an international journal of quaternary research |
op_relation |
0300-9483 http://hdl.handle.net/1885/18377 |
_version_ |
1766342076224503808 |