Short communication: Driftwood provides reliable chronological markers in Arctic coastal deposits

Abstract. Originating from the boreal forest and often transported over large distances, driftwood characterizes many Arctic coastlines. Here we present a combined assessment of radiocarbon (14C) and dendrochronological (ring width) age estimates of driftwood samples to constrain the progradation of two Holocene beach-ridge systems near the Lena Delta in the Siberian Arctic (Laptev Sea). Our data show that the 14C ages obtained on syndepositional driftwood from beach deposits yield surprisingly coherent chronologies for the coastal evolution of the field sites. The dendrochronological analysis of wood from modern drift lines revealed the origin and recent delivery of the wood from the Lena River catchment. This finding suggests that the duration of transport lies within the uncertainty of state-of-the-art 14C dating and thus substantiates the validity of age indication obtained from driftwood. This observation will help us better understand the response of similar coastal systems to past climate and sea-level changes.

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Short communication: Driftwood provides reliable chronological markers in Arctic coastal deposits

10.5194/gchron-2020-28 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lasse Sander ◽

Alexander Kirdyanov ◽

Alan Crivellaro ◽

Ulf Büntgen

Keyword(s):

Ring Width ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

14C Dating ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

Lena River ◽

Dendrochronological Analysis ◽

Siberian Arctic ◽

Coastal Deposits ◽

River Catchments ◽

Age Estimates

Abstract. Originating from the boreal forest and often transported over large distances, driftwood characterises many Arctic coastlines. Here we present a combined assessment of radiocarbon (14C) and dendrochronological (ring width) age estimates of driftwood samples to constrain the progradation of two Holocene beach-ridge systems near the Lena Delta in the Siberian Arctic (Laptev Sea). Our data show that the 14C ages obtained on syndepositional driftwood from beach deposits yield surprisingly coherent chronologies for the coastal evolution of the field sites. The dendrochronological analysis of wood from modern driftlines revealed the origin and recent delivery of the wood from the Lena River catchments. This finding suggests that the duration transport lies within the uncertainty of state-of-the-art 14C dating and thus substantiates the validity of age indication obtained from driftwood. This observation will help to better understand changes in similar coastal environments, and to improve our knowledge about the response of coastal systems to past climate and sea-level changes.

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Holocene relative sea-level changes and coastal evolution along the coastlines of Kamaran Island and As-Salif Peninsula, Yemen, southern Red Sea

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106719 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 252 ◽

pp. 106719

Author(s):

Ahmed Saif Al-Mikhlafi ◽

Fiona D. Hibbert ◽

Lawrence R. Edwards ◽

Hai Cheng

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Red Sea ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

Coastal Evolution

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Sea-level fluctuations and coastal evolution in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ◽

10.1590/0001-3765201420140007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 86 (2) ◽

pp. 671-683 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

JOÃO WAGNER A. CASTRO ◽

KENITIRO SUGUIO ◽

JOSÉ C.S. SEOANE ◽

ALINE M. DA CUNHA ◽

FABIO F. DIAS

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Atlantic Coast ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Brazilian Coast ◽

14C Dating ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

The Holocene ◽

First Time

The present paper aims to investigate the relative sea-level and the coastal evolution during the Holocene in the Rio de Janeiro coastline, based on geological and biological indicators. Using topographic survey, excavation and coring, and 14C dating of these coastal deposits and beachrocks outcrops, we have reconstructed a sea-level curve for the Holocene. For the first time on the Brazilian coast it was identified a negative record of relative sea-level during Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene transition. After the transition, a relatively rapid increase of sea-level began. At approximately at 8500 cal yr BP, the sea-level was 0.5 m below the current level, was overtaken for the first time in the Holocene, at approximately 7500 cal yr BP. The maximum level of +2.5 m was reached between 4770 and 4490 cal yr BP. At the point of maximum transgression, the sea-level began a general behavior of lowering until the present. These results confirm other data already obtained elsewhere along the Atlantic coast of South America. The results of this study are consistent with previous researches and they help to refine the Holocene sea-level record along the Brazilian coast.

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Seasonal and interannual variability of sedimentation and organic matter distribution in the Buor-Khaya Gulf: the primary recipient of input from Lena River and coastal erosion in the southeast Laptev Sea

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-8-2581-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 2581-2594 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

A. N. Charkin ◽

O. V. Dudarev ◽

I. P. Semiletov ◽

A. V. Kruhmalev ◽

J. E. Vonk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Water Column ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Lena River ◽

Siberian Arctic ◽

Sedimentation Regime ◽

Ice Complex

Abstract. Climate warming is amplified in the land-sea system of the East Siberian Arctic, which also holds large pools of vulnerable carbon in permafrost. This coastal area is strongly influenced by sediment and carbon transport from both its large rivers and extensive erosion of Pleistocene permafrost along its coastline. This study is investigating the coastal fate of the sediment and organic carbon delivered to the Buor-Khaya Gulf, which is the first recipient of the overwhelming fluvial discharge from the Lena River and is additionally receiving large input from extensive erosion of the coastal ice-complex (permafrost a.k.a. Yedoma; loess soil with high organic carbon content). Both water column suspended particulate matter (SPM) and surface sediments were sampled at about 250 oceanographic stations in the Gulf in this multi-year effort, including one winter campaign, and analyzed for the distribution and sorting of sediment size, organic carbon content, and stable carbon isotope signals. The composition of the surface sediment suggests an overwhelmingly terrestrial contribution from both river and coastal erosion. The objective of this paper is to improve our understanding of the seasonal (i.e., winter vs summer) and interannual variability of these coastal sedimentation processes and the dynamics of organic carbon (OC) distribution in both the water column SPM and the surface sediments of the Buor-Khaya Gulf. Based on data collected during several years in the period 2000–2008, two different sedimentation regimes were revealed for the Buor-Khaya Gulf, the relative importance of each at a given time depend on hydrometeorological conditions, the Lena River water discharge and sea-ice regime: Type 1 erosion-accumulation and Type 2 accumulation. The Type 1 erosion-accumulation sedimentation regime is typical (2000–2006) for the ice-free period of the year (here considered in detail for August 2005). Under such conditions terrigenous sources of SPM and particulate organic carbon (POC) stem predominantly from river discharge, thermal erosion of coastal ice-complex and remobilized bottom sediments. The Type 2 accumulation sedimentation regime develops under ice-covered conditions, and only occasionally during the ice-free period (August 2008). In Type 2 winter, combined terrigenous and marine-biogenic SPM and POC sources are dominating due to relatively low overall terrigenous input (April 2007). In Type 2 summer, river alluvium becomes the major SPM and POC source (August 2008). The water column SPM and POC loadings vary by more than a factor of two between the two regimes. This study underscores the necessity of multi-year investigations to better understand the functioning of the primary recipient of terrestrially expulsed matter in the East Siberian Arctic.

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Late quaternary sea-level changes, crustal movements and coastal evolution in Northumberland, UK

Journal of Quaternary Science ◽

10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(200003)15:3<215::aid-jqs505>3.0.co;2-# ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 215-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Ian Shennan ◽

Ben Horton ◽

Jim Innes ◽

Roland Gehrels ◽

Jerry Lloyd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

Crustal Movements

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Palaeobiogeography of the Holocene molluscan fauna from northeastern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina: its relation to coastal evolution and sea level changes

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology ◽

10.1016/0031-0182(93)90002-z ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 102 (1-2) ◽

pp. 1-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Marina L. Aguirre

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Buenos Aires ◽

Buenos Aires Province ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

The Holocene ◽

Molluscan Fauna ◽

And Sea Level

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Contrasting composition of terrigenous organic matter in the dissolved, particulate and sedimentary organic carbon pools on the outer East Siberian Arctic Shelf

10.5194/bg-2016-260 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Joan A. Salvadó ◽

Tommaso Tesi ◽

Marcus Sundbom ◽

Emma Karlsson ◽

Martin Kruså ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

River Plume ◽

Outer Shelf ◽

Carbon Pools ◽

Laptev Sea ◽

Lena River ◽

Lignin Phenols ◽

East Siberian Sea ◽

Siberian Arctic ◽

Thawing Permafrost

Abstract. Fluvial discharge and coastal erosion of the permafrost-dominated East Siberian Arctic delivers large quantities of terrigenous organic carbon (Terr-OC) to marine waters. The composition and fate of the remobilized Terr-OC needs to be better constrained as it impacts the potential for a climate-carbon feedback. In the present study, the bulk isotope (δ13C and Δ14C) and macromolecular (lignin-derived phenols) composition of the cross-shelf exported organic carbon (OC) in different marine pools is evaluated. For this purpose, as part of the SWERUS-C3 expedition (July–September 2014), sediment organic carbon (SOC) as well as water column (from surface and near-bottom seawater) dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) samples were collected along the outer shelves of the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea. The results show that the Lena River and the DOC have a preferential role in the transport of Terr-OC to the outer shelf. DOC concentrations (740–3600 μg L−1) were one order of magnitude higher than POC (20–360 μg L−1), with higher concentrations towards to the Lena River plume. Depleted δ13C, modern Δ14C and lignin phenols concentrations were all well correlated with DOC levels indicating a relatively young terrestrial contribution. In contrast, POC may have a preferential marine origin, as its concentrations were not correlated with isotope and terrestrial biomarker proxies. The δ13C signatures in the three carbon pools varied from −23.9 ± 1.9 ‰ in the SOC, −26.1 ± 1.2 ‰ in the DOC and −27.1 ± 1.9 ‰ in the POC. The Δ14C values ranged between −395 ± 83 ‰ (SOC), −226 ± 92 ‰ (DOC) and −113 ± 122 ‰ (POC). These stable and radiocarbon isotopes were also different between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea. Both DOC and POC showed a depleted and younger trend off the Lena River plume. The older and more enriched δ13C signatures in the outer-shelf of the ESS suggest instead a greater influence of the sea ice coverage and the Pacific inflow from the east. Lignin phenols exhibited higher OC-normalized concentration in the SOC (0.10–2.34 mg g−1 OC) and DOC (0.08–2.40 mg g−1 OC) than in the POC (0.03–1.14 mg g−1 OC). The good relationship between lignin and Δ14C signatures in the DOC suggests that a significant fraction of the outer-shelf DOC comes from ''young'' Terr-OC. By contrast, the slightly negative correlation between lignin phenols and Δ14C signatures in POC, with higher lignin concentrations in older POC from near-bottom waters, may reflect the off-shelf transport of OC from remobilized permafrost in the nepheloid layer. Moreover, syringyl/vanillyl and cinnamyl/vannillyl phenols ratios presented distinct clustering between DOC, POC and SOC, suggesting that those pools are carrying different Terr-OC of partially different origin. Finally, 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid to vanillyl phenols ratios and p-coumaric acid to ferulic acid ratios, used as a diagenetic indicators, enhanced in POC and SOC. This suggests that the remobilized old OC from thawing permafrost, which is mainly transported within these pools, could experience less burial and more mineralization than believed earlier. Overall, DOC is strongly affected by the Lena River plume transporting young Terr-OC from topsoil and/or recently produced vascular pant material, while near-bottom POC and SOC preferentially carries off-shelf old OC released from thawing permafrost.

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A new 30 000-year chronology for rapidly deposited sediments on the Lomonosov Ridge using bulk radiocarbon dating and probabilistic stratigraphic alignment

Geochronology ◽

10.5194/gchron-2-81-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 81-91

Author(s):

Francesco Muschitiello ◽

Matt O'Regan ◽

Jannik Martens ◽

Gabriel West ◽

Örjan Gustafsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Accumulation Rate ◽

Ice Core ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Monte Carlo Algorithm ◽

Stratigraphic Correlation ◽

Lomonosov Ridge ◽

14C Dating ◽

High Accumulation ◽

Radiocarbon Age ◽

Age Estimates

Abstract. We present a new marine chronostratigraphy from a high-accumulation rate Arctic Ocean core at the intersection of the Lomonosov Ridge and the Siberian margin, spanning the last ∼ 30 kyr. The chronology was derived using a combination of bulk 14C dating and stratigraphic correlation to Greenland ice-core records. This was achieved by applying an appositely developed Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for Bayesian probabilistic alignment of proxy records. The algorithm simulates depositionally realistic alignments that are consistent with the available radiocarbon age estimates and allows deriving uncertainty bands associated with the inferred alignment. Current composite chronologies from this region are reasonably consistent with our age model during the Holocene and the later part of deglaciation. However, prior to ∼ 14 kyr BP they yield too old age estimates with offsets that linearly increase up to ∼ 40 kyr near the onset of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. Our results challenge the robustness of previous regional chronostratigraphies and provide a new stratotype for correlation of sediment cores from this sector of the Lomonosov Ridge and East Siberian slope. In particular, they call for a re-interpretation of events in recent sea-ice proxy reconstructions (Xiao et al., 2015) inaccurately attributed to MIS 3 and the Last Glacial Maximum.

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Eustatic control of late Quaternary sea-level change in the Arabian/Persian Gulf

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2014.03.002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 175-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Thomas Stevens ◽

Matthew J. Jestico ◽

Graham Evans ◽

Anthony Kirkham

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Persian Gulf ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Osl Dating ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Last Interglacial ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Sea Level Variations ◽

The Last Glacial

AbstractAccurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring >100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.

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