COMMUNICATING CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED FLOODING AND SEA LEVEL RISE RISK IN ONE OF AMERICAS MOST VULNERABLE REGIONS, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman S. Levine ◽  
◽  
Landon C. Knapp ◽  
Alex Braud ◽  
Casey Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
And Sea Level

A radiocarbon chronology of Holocene climate change and sea-level rise at the Delmarva Peninsula, US Mid-Atlantic Coast

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110482
Author(s):  
Kelvin W Ramsey ◽  
Jaime L. Tomlinson ◽  
C. Robin Mattheus
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Delmarva Peninsula ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Cool Climate ◽  
And Sea Level

Radiocarbon dates from 176 sites along the Delmarva Peninsula record the timing of deposition and sea-level rise, and non-marine wetland deposition. The dates provide confirmation of the boundaries of the Holocene subepochs (e.g. “early-middle-late” of Walker et al.) in the mid-Atlantic of eastern North America. These data record initial sea-level rise in the early Holocene, followed by a high rate of rise at the transition to the middle Holocene at 8.2 ka, and a leveling off and decrease in the late-Holocene. The dates, coupled to local and regional climate (pollen) records and fluvial activity, allow regional subdivision of the Holocene into six depositional and climate phases. Phase A (>10 ka) is the end of periglacial activity and transition of cold/cool climate to a warmer early Holocene. Phase B (10.2–8.2 ka) records rise of sea level in the region, a transition to Pinus-dominated forest, and decreased non-marine deposition on the uplands. Phase C (8.2–5.6 ka) shows rapid rates of sea-level rise, expansion of estuaries, and a decrease in non-marine deposition with cool and dry climate. Phase D (5.6–4.2 ka) is a time of high rates of sea-level rise, expanding estuaries, and dry and cool climate; the Atlantic shoreline transgressed rapidly and there was little to no deposition on the uplands. Phase E (4.2–1.1 ka) is a time of lowering sea-level rise rates, Atlantic shorelines nearing their present position, and marine shoal deposition; widespread non-marine deposition resumed with a wetter and warmer climate. Phase F (1.1 ka-present) incorporates the Medieval Climate Anomaly and European settlement on the Delmarva Peninsula. Chronology of depositional phases and coastal changes related to sea-level rise is useful for archeological studies of human occupation in relation to climate change in eastern North America, and provides an important dataset for future regional and global sea-level reconstructions.

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