Sedimentary records of recent sea level rise and acceleration in the Yucatan Peninsula

2016 ◽  
Vol 573 ◽  
pp. 1063-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislav Carnero-Bravo ◽  
Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza ◽  
Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández ◽  
Martín Merino-Ibarra ◽  
Claude Hillaire-Marcel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Sedimentary Records ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula

Palaeoenvironmental evolution of Cenote Aktun Ha (Carwash) on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and its response to Holocene sea-level rise

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy J. Gabriel ◽  
Eduard G. Reinhardt ◽  
Matthew C. Peros ◽  
Dawn E. Davidson ◽  
Peter J. van Hengstum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Holocene Sea Level

scholarly journals Late Holocene environmental change in Celestun Lagoon, Yucatan, Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Hardage ◽  
Joseph Street ◽  
Jorge A. Herrera-Silveira ◽  
Ferdinand K. J. Oberle ◽  
Adina Paytan
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Groundwater Aquifers ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Paleoclimate Records

AbstractEpikarst estuary response to hydroclimate change remains poorly understood, despite the well-studied link between climate and karst groundwater aquifers. The influence of sea-level rise and coastal geomorphic change on these estuaries obscures climate signals, thus requiring careful development of paleoenvironmental histories to interpret the paleoclimate archives. We used foraminifera assemblages, carbon stable isotope ratios (δ13C) and carbon:nitrogen (C:N) mass ratios of organic matter in sediment cores to infer environmental changes over the past 5300 years in Celestun Lagoon, Yucatan, Mexico. Specimens (> 125 µm) from modern core top sediments revealed three assemblages: (1) a brackish mangrove assemblage of agglutinated Miliammina and Ammotium taxa and hyaline Haynesina (2) an inner-shelf marine assemblage of Bolivina, Hanzawaia, and Rosalina, and (3) a brackish assemblage dominated by Ammonia and Elphidium. Assemblages changed along the lagoon channel in response to changes in salinity and vegetation, i.e. seagrass and mangrove. In addition to these three foraminifera assemblages, lagoon sediments deposited since 5300 cal yr BP are comprised of two more assemblages, defined by Archaias and Laevipeneroplis, which indicate marine Thalassia seagrasses, and Trichohyalus, which indicates restricted inland mangrove ponds. Our data suggest that Celestun Lagoon displayed four phases of development: (1) an inland mangrove pond (5300 BP) (2) a shallow unprotected coastline with marine seagrass and barrier island initiation (4900 BP) (3) a protected brackish lagoon (3000 BP), and (4) a protected lagoon surrounded by mangroves (1700 BP). Stratigraphic (temporal) changes in core assemblages resemble spatial differences in communities across the modern lagoon, from the southern marine sector to the northern brackish region. Similar temporal patterns have been reported from other Yucatan Peninsula lagoons and from cenotes (Nichupte, Aktun Ha), suggesting a regional coastal response to sea level rise and climate change, including geomorphic controls (longshore drift) on lagoon salinity, as observed today. Holocene barrier island development progressively protected the northwest Yucatan Peninsula coastline, reducing mixing between seawater and rain-fed submarine groundwater discharge. Superimposed on this geomorphic signal, assemblage changes that are observed reflect the most severe regional wet and dry climate episodes, which coincide with paleoclimate records from lowland lake archives (Chichancanab, Salpeten). Our results emphasize the need to consider coastal geomorphic evolution when using epikarst estuary and lagoon sediment archives for paleoclimate reconstruction and provide evidence of hydroclimate changes on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Age and magnitude of the late Pleistocene sea-level rise on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula

Geology ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 713 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Szabo ◽  
W. C. Ward ◽  
A. E. Weidie ◽  
M. J. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Middle to Late Quaternary sea level using submerged speleothems from the northeastern Yucatán Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1190-1200
Author(s):  
Simon D. Steidle ◽  
Sophie F. Warken ◽  
Nils Schorndorf ◽  
Julius Förstel ◽  
Andrea Schröder‐Ritzrau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula

Coastal accretion and sea-level rise in the Cuban Archipelago obtained from sedimentary records

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1233-1242
Author(s):  
Misael Díaz-Asencio ◽  
Maickel Armenteros ◽  
José A. Corcho-Alvarado ◽  
Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández ◽  
Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Sedimentary Process ◽  
Sedimentary Records ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Continuous Record ◽  
Primary Mineral ◽  
Instrumental Records ◽  
Santa Maria

Sea-level rise (SLR) is one of the most pervasive consequences of global warming, and the Cuban Archipelago is threatened by current and future SLR. In order to support adaptation plans, it is essential to have reliable information about sea-level change during the last decades at the local scale, particularly in the most vulnerable regions. Here, we use sedimentary records to evaluate coastal accretion and to estimate the relative sea-level rise (RSLR) in two vulnerable coastal sites in central Cuba: Cayo Santa María (CSM) and Península de Ancón (PA). Both sites showed sediment sections with a continuous record of sediment accretion as a result of relative SLR and tropical storms. The sedimentary process was different between CSM and PA owing to differences in geomorphology and primary mineral composition. Sedimentary records also showed recent impacts of anthropogenic activities, likely increasing the vulnerability of the shoreline to SLR. The estimated RSLR values agreed with tidal gauge records, although they spanned a much longer time period (CSM: 0.5 ± 0.1 mm a−1, span of 38 years; PA: 1.5 ± 0.3 mm a−1, span of 92 years). Our results confirm that this methodology may be used to estimate the RSLR in places where data by instrumental records do not exist.

scholarly journals Last interglacial sea levels within the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Caribbean Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander R. Simms
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract. During the Last Interglacial (LIG) the volume of additional water in the world's oceans was large enough to raise global sea levels about 6–9 m higher than present levels. However, LIG sea levels vary regionally and those regional differences hold clues about the past distribution of ice sheets and local rates of subsidence and tectonic uplift. In this study, I used a standardized database template to review and summarize the existing constraints on LIG sea levels across the northern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean shoreline of the Yucatan Peninsula. In total, I extracted 32 sea-level indicators including the insertion of 16 U-series ages on corals, 1 electron spin resonance age, 2 amino acid racemization ages and 26 luminescence ages. Most dated sea-level indicators for the northern Gulf of Mexico are based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of beach deposits of a mappable LIG shoreline. This shoreline extends from the Florida Panhandle through south Texas but is buried or removed by the Mississippi River across most of Louisiana. A similar feature is observed in satellite images south of the Rio Grande within the Mexican portions of the Gulf of Mexico but has yet to be dated. Elevations measured on portions of this feature close to the modern coast point to sea levels less than 1 m to ~ 5 m higher than present for much of the northern Gulf of Mexico. However, a few, albeit undated, portions of the same shoreline located at more inland locations point to sea levels up to +7.2 m attesting to up to 7 m of differential subsidence between the inland and coastal sites. Across the Yucatan Peninsula, U-series dating of corals has provided the main index points for LIG sea levels. Other carbonate coastal features such as beach ridges and eolianites have also been described, but rely on corals for their dating. The maximum elevation of the LIG coral-based relative sea-level (RSL) estimates decrease from around +6 m across the Caribbean shoreline of the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun, Mexico to as low as −6 m to the south beneath the southern atolls of Belize, although discussion continues as to the validity of the ages for these southern corals. If these lower elevations corals are LIG in age, their below-present elevations may be a result of vertical motion along faults dipping into the Cayman Trough. South of Belize only one purported LIG coral has been dated on the Isla de Roatán off the coast of Honduras at a likely tectonically uplifted elevation of 37.2 m. Thus the elevation of LIG sea levels within the inland siliciclastic shorelines of Guatemala and Honduras as well as the southwestern Gulf of Mexico remain poorly constrained and potential venues for future research. The database described in this paper is available open-access in spreadsheet format as Simms (2020), at this link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4002200.

Early–middle Holocene relative sea-level oscillation events recorded in a submerged speleothem from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

The Holocene ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1511-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina E Moseley ◽  
David A Richards ◽  
Peter L Smart ◽  
Christopher D Standish ◽  
Dirk L Hoffmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Level Oscillation

scholarly journals Last interglacial sea levels within the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Caribbean Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1419-1439
Author(s):  
Alexander R. Simms
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract. During the last interglacial (LIG) the volume of additional water in the world's oceans was large enough to raise global sea levels about 6–9 m higher than present levels. However, LIG sea levels vary regionally and those regional differences hold clues about the past distribution of ice sheets and local rates of subsidence and tectonic uplift. In this study, I used a standardized database template to review and summarize the existing constraints on LIG sea levels across the northern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean shoreline of the Yucatán Peninsula. In total, I extracted 32 sea-level indicators including the insertion of 16 U-series ages on corals, 1 electron spin resonance age, 2 amino acid racemization ages, and 26 luminescence ages. Most dated sea-level indicators for the northern Gulf of Mexico are based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of beach deposits of a mappable LIG shoreline. This shoreline extends from the Florida Panhandle through south Texas but is buried or removed by the Mississippi River across most of Louisiana. A similar feature is observed in satellite images south of the Rio Grande within the Mexican portions of the Gulf of Mexico but has yet to be dated. Elevations measured on portions of this feature close to the modern coast point to sea levels less than 1 m to ∼5 m higher than present for much of the northern Gulf of Mexico. However, a few, albeit undated, portions of the same shoreline located at more inland locations point to sea levels up to +7.2 m, attesting to up to 7 m of differential subsidence between the inland and coastal sites. Across the Yucatán Peninsula, U-series dating of corals has provided the main index points for LIG sea levels. Other carbonate coastal features such as beach ridges and eolianites have also been described but rely on corals for their dating. The maximum elevation of the LIG coral-based relative sea-level (RSL) estimates decrease from around +6 m across the Caribbean shoreline of the Yucatán Peninsula near Cancún, Mexico, to as low as −6 m to the south beneath the southern atolls of Belize, although discussion continues as to the validity of the ages for these southern corals. If these lower-elevation corals are LIG in age, their below-present elevations may be a result of vertical motion along faults dipping into the Cayman Trough. South of Belize only one purported LIG coral has been dated on the Isla de Roatán off the coast of Honduras at a likely tectonically uplifted elevation of 37.2 m. Thus the elevation of LIG sea levels within the inland siliciclastic shorelines of Guatemala and Honduras as well as the southwestern Gulf of Mexico remains poorly constrained and a potential venue for future research. The database described in this paper is available open access in spreadsheet format as Simms (2020), at this link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4556163.

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