Sea-level change and the archaeology of early Venice

Antiquity ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (280) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Ammerman ◽  
C. E. McClennen ◽  
M. de Min ◽  
R. Housley
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Investigation ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Insight Into

The threatened city of Venice, plauged by rising sea levels and subsiding ground, has been the subject of recent archaeological investigation. Studies of buried archaeological sites yield new evidence on trends in sea-level change for the Lagoon of Venice and provide important insight into how early habitation responded to such change.

scholarly journals Holocene sea-level change and coastal landscape evolution in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1411-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R Sloss ◽  
Luke Nothdurft ◽  
Quan Hua ◽  
Shoshannah G O’Connor ◽  
Patrick T Moss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Landscape Evolution ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Lower Latitude ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Coastal Landscape ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Holocene Sea Level

A revised Holocene sea-level history for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria is presented based on new data from the South Wellesley Archipelago and age recalibration of previous research. Results confirm that rising sea levels during the most recent post-glacial marine transgression breached the Arafura Sill ca. 11,700 cal. yr BP. Sea levels continued to rise to ca. –30 m by 10,000 cal. yr BP, leading to full marine conditions. By 7700 cal. yr BP, sea-level reached present mean sea-level (PMSL) and continued to rise to an elevation of between 1.5 m and 2 m above PMSL. Sea level remained ca. + 1.5 between 7000 and 4000 cal. yr BP, followed by rapid regression to within ± 0.5 m of PMSL by ca. 3500 cal. yr BP. When placed into a wider regional context results from this study show that coastal landscape evolution in the tropical north of Australia was not only dependent on sea-level change but also show a direct correlation with Holocene climate variability. Specifically, the formation and preservation of beach-rock deposits, intertidal successions, beach and chenier ridge systems hold valuable sea-level and Holocene climate proxies that can contribute to the growing research into lower latitude Holocene sea-level and climate histories.

scholarly journals The Effect of Wind Stress on Seasonal Sea-Level Change on the Northwestern European Shelf

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
European Shelf ◽  
Emissions Scenario

Abstract Projections of relative sea-level change (RSLC) are commonly reported at an annual mean basis. The seasonality of RSLC is often not considered, even though it may modulate the impacts of annual mean RSLC. Here, we study seasonal differences in 21st-century ocean dynamic sea-level change (DSLC, 2081-2100 minus 1995-2014) on the Northwestern European Shelf (NWES) and their drivers, using an ensemble of 33 CMIP6 models complemented with experiments performed with a regional ocean model. For the high-end emissions scenario SSP5-8.5, we find substantial seasonal differences in ensemble mean DSLC, especially in the southeastern North Sea. For example, at Esbjerg (Denmark), winter mean DSLC is on average 8.4 cm higher than summer mean DSLC. Along all coasts on the NWES, DSLC is higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. For the low-end emissions scenario SSP1-2.6, these seasonal differences are smaller. Our experiments indicate that the changes in winter and summer sea-level anomalies are mainly driven by regional changes in wind-stress anomalies, which are generally southwesterly and east-northeasterly over the NWES, respectively. In spring and autumn, regional wind-stress changes play a smaller role. We also show that CMIP6 models not resolving currents through the English Channel cannot accurately simulate the effect of seasonal wind-stress changes on he NWES. Our results imply that using projections of annual mean RSLC may underestimate the projected changes in extreme coastal sea levels in spring and winter. Additionally, changes in the seasonal sea-level cycle may affect groundwater dynamics and the inundation characteristics of intertidal ecosystems.

Sea-Level Reconstructions and Archaeological Indicators: A Case Study from the Submerged Hellenistic Harbor at Akko, Israel

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Victoria Pietraszek ◽  
Oded Katz ◽  
Jacob Sharvit ◽  
Beverly Goodman-Tchernov
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Structural Deterioration ◽  
Short And Long Term

<p>With the impending threat of continued sea-level rise and coastal inundation, it is important to understand the short- and long-term factors affecting sea-level in a particular region. Such a feat can be accomplished by turning to indicators of past sea-levels. This study aims to highlight the utility of archaeological indicators in sea-level reconstructions, using Akko on Israel’s northern Mediterranean micro-tidal coast as a case study. Here, installations belonging to the maritime metropolis’ Hellenistic Period (3rd to 1st centuries BCE) harbor, which have well-constrained chronological and elevational limitations, were identified at depths averaging 1.1 to 1.2 meters below present sea-level (mbpsl). These features would have been located sub-aerially during the time of their construction and use, indicating a change in relative sea-level in the area since this time. Utilizing a multiple proxy approach incorporating marine sedimentological and geoarchaeological methodologies with previously recorded regional data, three possible explanations for this apparent sea-level change were assessed: structural deterioration, sea-level rise, and vertical tectonic movements. This study revealed that, although signs of structural deterioration are apparent in some parts of the quay, this particular harbor installation is well-established as in situ as it has a continuous upper surface and its southern edge is built directly on the underlying bedrock. Consequently, the harbor’s current submarine position can instead be attributed to sea-level change and/or vertical tectonic displacements. While this amount of sea-level rise (over 1 m) is in agreement with glacio-hydro-eustatic values suggested for other areas of the Mediterranean, it falls below those previously reported locally. In addition, most studies suggest that the tectonic movement along this stretch of coastline is negligible. These new data provide a reliable relative sea-level marker with very little error with regard to maximum sea-level, thereby renewing the overall consideration of the tectonic and sea-level processes that have been active along this stretch of coastline during the last 2,500 years.</p>

Submerged archaeological sites along the Ionian coast of southeastern Sicily (Italy) and implications for the Holocene relative sea-level change

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Scicchitano ◽  
Fabrizio Antonioli ◽  
Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri ◽  
Andrea Dutton ◽  
Carmelo Monaco
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Uplift Rates

AbstractPrecise measurements of submerged archaeological markers in the Siracusa coast (Southeastern Sicily, Italy) provide new data on relative sea-level change during the late Holocene. Four submerged archaeological sites have been studied and investigated through direct observations. Two of them are Greek archaic in age (2.5–2.7 ka) and are now 0.98–1.48 m below sea level; the other two developed during the Bronze age (3.2–3.8 ka) and are now 1.03–1.97 m below sea level. These archaeological data have been integrated with information derived from a submerged speleothem collected in a cave located along the Siracusa coast at − 20 m depth. The positions of the archaeological markers have been measured with respect to present sea level, corrected for tide and pressure at the time of surveys. These data were compared with predicted sea-level rise curves for the Holocene using a glacio-hydro-isostatic model. The comparison with the curve for the southeastern Sicily coast yields a tectonic component of relative sea-level change related to regional uplift. Uplift rates between 0.3 and 0.8 mm/yr have been estimated.

SEA LEVEL CHANGES IN THE NEOGENE OF SOUTHERN VICTORIA

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Mallett
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Gippsland Basin

The distribution and lithology of marine sediments in southern Victoria are related to climatic events and the associated sea level changes. The most extensive transgression on the northern (onshore) margin of the southern Victorian Tertiary basins occurred late in the Early Miocene, with widespread deposition of calcareous muds and localised calcarenites with Lepidocvclina. Shallowing at approximately 14 m.y. affected all southern Victoria, initiating lithological changes in the Otway and Port Phillip Basins, and coinciding with erosion in the Gippsland Basin. Throughout the Late Miocene the grain size of sediments tended to increase and cross-bedded calcarenites became more common, consistent with shallowing deposition and sea withdrawal. By approximately 6 m.y., near the end of the Late Miocene, the sea had completely withdrawn from the onshore areas of southern Victoria.Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops are scattered and thin, and marine beds are exclusively of nearshore and shallow deposition. For much of this period sea level was lower than at present. High levels in the Pliocene are indicated at approximately 5 m.y. and 3.5 m.y. High sea levels, associated with the rapid alternation of glacial and interglacial periods which typify the Pleistocene Epoch, were initiated late in the Pliocene, close to 2 m.y.Changes to the planktonic foraminiferal faunas parallel the sedimentological responses to sea level change. These suggest that palaeoclimatic events were the main controlling factor in Neogene sea level changes in southern Victoria, and allow differentiation of the eustatic and tectonic controls on sedimentation.

scholarly journals Elevation Change of the Antarctic Ice Sheet: 1985 to 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Nilsson ◽  
Alex Gardner ◽  
Fernando Paolo
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Similar Amount ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The largest uncertainty in future projections of sea level change comes from the uncertain response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the warming oceans and atmosphere. The ice sheet gains roughly 2000 km3 of ice from precipitation each year and losses a similar amount through solid ice discharge into the surrounding oceans. Numerous studies have shown that the ice sheet is currently out of long-term equilibrium, losing mass at an accelerated rate and increasing sea levels rise. Projections of sea-level change rely on accurate estimates of the contribution of land ice to the contemporary sea level budget. The longest observational record available to study the mass balance of the Earth’s ice sheets comes from satellite altimeters. This record, however, consists of multiple satellite missions with different life-spans, inconsistent measurement types (radar and laser) and of varying quality. To fully utilize these data, measurements from different missions must be cross-calibrated and integrated into a consistent record of change. Here, we present a novel approach for generating such a record. We describe in detail the advanced geophysical corrections applied and the processes needed to derive elevation change estimates. We processed the full archive record of satellite altimetry data, providing a seamless record of elevation change for the Antarctic Ice Sheet that spans the period 1985 to 2020. The data are produced and distributed as part of the NASA MEaSUREs ITS_LIVE project (Nilsson et al., 2021).

Wind-Driven Coastal Sea Level Variability in the Northeast Pacific

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 4733-4751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. Thompson ◽  
Mark A. Merrifield ◽  
Judith R. Wells ◽  
Chantel M. Chang
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Minor Importance ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Coastal Sea

Abstract The rate of coastal sea level change in the northeast Pacific (NEP) has decreased in recent decades. The relative contributions to the decreased rate from remote equatorial wind stress, local longshore wind stress, and local windstress curl are examined. Regressions of sea level onto wind stress time series and comparisons between NEP and Fremantle sea levels suggest that the decreased rate in the NEP is primarily due to oceanic adjustment to strengthened trade winds along the equatorial and coastal waveguides. When taking care to account for correlations between the various wind stress time series, the roles of longshore wind stress and local windstress curl are found to be of minor importance in comparison to equatorial forcing. The predictability of decadal sea level change rates along the NEP coastline is therefore largely determined by tropical variability. In addition, the importance of accounting for regional, wind-driven sea level variations when attempting to calculate accelerations in the long-term rate of sea level rise is demonstrated.

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