A sea-level database for the Pacific coast of central North America

A database of published and new relative sea-level (RSL) data for the past 16 ka constrains the sea-level histories of the Pacific coast of central North America (southern British Columbia to central California). Our reevaluation of the stratigraphic context and radiocarbon age of sea-level indicato...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaternary Science Reviews
Main Authors: Engelhart, Simon E., Vacchi, Matteo, Horton, Benjamin P., Nelson, Alan R., Kopp, Robert E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Cascadia subduction zone
Glacial isostatic adjustment
Holocene
Pacific North America
Sea-level database
Global and Planetary Change
Ecology
Evolution
Behavior and Systematic
Archeology (arts and humanities)
Archeology
Geology
Pacific
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11568/965499
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.12.001
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/
Description
Summary:A database of published and new relative sea-level (RSL) data for the past 16 ka constrains the sea-level histories of the Pacific coast of central North America (southern British Columbia to central California). Our reevaluation of the stratigraphic context and radiocarbon age of sea-level indicators from geological and archaeological investigations yields 600 sea-level index points and 241 sea-level limiting points. We subdivided the database into 12 regions based on the availability of data, tectonic setting, and distance from the former Cordilleran ice sheet. Most index (95%) and limiting points (54%) are <7 ka; older data come mainly from British Columbia and San Francisco Bay. The stratigraphic position of points was used as a first-order assessment of compaction. Formerly glaciated areas show variable RSL change; where data are present, highstands of RSL occur immediately post-deglaciation and in the mid to late Holocene. Sites at the periphery and distant to formerly glaciated areas demonstrate a continuous rise in RSL with a decreasing rate through time due to the collapse of the peripheral forebulge and the reduction in meltwater input during deglaciation. Late Holocene RSL change varies spatially from falling at 0.7 ± 0.8 mm a-1 in southern British Columbia to rising at 1.5 ± 0.3 mm a-1 in California. The different sea-level histories are an ongoing isostatic response to deglaciation of the Cordilleran and Laurentide Ice Sheets.

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