scholarly journals The Geomorphology of Glaciomarine Sediments in a High Arctic Fiord

2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Bednarski

ABSTRACTA general geomorphic model describing marine transgressions and regressions under non-glacial conditions is applied to the glacial environment. The general model recognizes two variables: i) the rate of relative sea level change, and ii) the rate of sedimentation at the coastline. The interaction of the two variables determines the nature of transgression or regression at a particular shoreline. In glaciated areas both sedimentation rates and relative sea level changes are controlled mainly by glacioclimatic responses of the ice. This is best illustrated along arctic coastlines where glacioisostatic loading caused extensive marine inundations during, and immediately after, the last glaciation. Subsequent emergence in the early Holocene has exposed extensive raised marine deposits. Clements Markham Inlet, on the northernmost coast of Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, contains raised marine deposits which have a definite spatial and sequential distribution related to the glacial history. The general geomorphic model is used to explain the distribution and geomorphology of this sediment. As the glacial cycle proceeds the balance between fluxes of sediment input and rate of sea level rise or fall will have a direct bearing on the type of stratigraphie sequence found in a particular area.

During the Pleistocene, a period covering the last two million years, sea level is known to have risen above and fallen below the present sea level. The evidence for such fluctuations comes from marine and estuarine sediments, including beaches, far above present sea level and from freshwater sediments, beaches and valley systems now submerged. In southeast England there are Lower Pleistocene marine deposits at 183 m O.D . at Netley Heath in Surrey and upper Pleistocene freshwater sediments at - 35 m O.D . in the Channel. Thus we have in this area evidence of an amplitude of sea-level fluctuation relative to the present sea level of some 218 m. While such limits of relative sea-level fluctuation are not so difficult to identify, very considerable difficulties arise in determining the relation of sea-level change to the passage of time, and in the analysis of sea-level change - whether it be a real lowering of sea level relative to land, or an uplift of land relative to sea level. Let us briefly consider each of these two fields of difficulty. To date a particular stand of sea level, we have to know the relation of a particular deposit, say beach or shallow marine sediment to sea level at the time, and we have to know the correlation of this deposit to a part of the sequence of geological events which make up the Pleistocene. Both of these aspects may be problematical. It may not be certain what depth of water a deposit was formed in, and the age and correlation of the deposit may be doubtful.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antony J. Long ◽  
Mateusz C. Strzelecki ◽  
Jerry M. Lloyd ◽  
Charlotte L. Bryant

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (13) ◽  
pp. 5263-5271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Jeramaz Lickley ◽  
Carling C. Hay ◽  
Mark E. Tamisiea ◽  
Jerry X. Mitrovica

Estimates of regional and global average sea level change remain a focus of climate change research. One complication in obtaining coherent estimates is that geodetic datasets measure different aspects of the sea level field. Satellite altimetry constrains changes in the sea surface height (SSH; or absolute sea level), whereas tide gauge data provide a measure of changes in SSH relative to the crust (i.e., relative sea level). The latter is a direct measure of changes in ocean volume (and the combined impacts of ice sheet melt and steric effects), but the former is not since it does not account for crustal deformation. Nevertheless, the literature commonly conflates the two estimates by directly comparing them. We demonstrate that using satellite altimetry records to estimate global ocean volume changes can lead to biases that can exceed 15%. The level of bias will depend on the relative contributions to sea level changes from the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. The bias is also more sensitive to the detailed geometry of mass flux from the Antarctic Ice Sheet than the Greenland Ice Sheet due to rotational effects on sea level. Finally, in a regional sense, altimetry estimates should not be compared to relative sea level changes because radial crustal motions driven by polar ice mass flux are nonnegligible globally.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Luli Gustiantini ◽  
Kresna Tri Dewi ◽  
Anne Muller ◽  
Praptisih Praptisih

A 30m-long sediment core covering the Holocene period was taken from the area of Gombong in the southern part of Central Java. The sediments were deposited in a shallow marine to lagoonal environment that was confirmed by the dominance of Ammonia beccarii along the core intervals. In addition, the species Quinqueloculina poeyana, Miliolinella lakemacquariensis, and Miliolinella subrotunda were also found in the sediments that are typical of normal shallow marine conditions. The decrease and increase in the abundance of these species throughout the core is an expression of sea level change in the area, which results the environmental changes. Low sea level is expressed by the dominance of Ammonia beccarii, and the low abundances or absence of the other three species. In contrast, high sea level stands are reflected by the presence of all four species. The high sea level would imply favorable conditions for benthic foraminifera because it would result in normal shallow marine conditions in the area. Finally, from this benthic assemblages study, it can be assumed that the environmental transformation from the originally shallow marine environment into land was occurred at level 5.5m depths of the sediment core, when all benthic foraminifera were terminated, including Ammonia beccarii. These new results from the shallow marine deposits in the Gombong area are a new contribution to the understanding of paleoenvironmental change in the region, which in turn is important for understanding sea level change as well as climate change in the region. Keywords: Benthic foraminifera, Holocene, paleoenvironmental changes, sea level changes Southcoast of Central Java Sebuah percontoh sedimen bor sepanjang 30m yang berumur Holosen diambil dari daerah Gombong, bagian selatan Jawa Tengah. Percontoh sedimen diendapkan pada lingkungan laut dangkal –laguna, berdasarkan kelimpahan foraminifera bentik Ammonia beccarii di sepanjang sedimen bor. Selain itu ditemukan juga spesies-spesies Quinqueloculina poeyana, Miliolinella lakemacquariensis, dan Miliolinella subrotunda, yang merupakan penciri lingkungan laut dangkal dengan kondisi normal. Penurunan dan kenaikan dari kelimpahan masing-masing spesies foraminifera bentik di atas, dapat mencerminkan perubahan permukaan air laut daerah studi, yang menghasilkan terjadinya perubahan lingkungan. Penurunan muka air laut dapat dicirikan dengan hadirnya Ammonia beccarii yang sangat dominan, sementara spesies lainnya cenderung berkurang bahkan hampir tidak ada. Sebaliknya ketika muka air laut naik, maka keempat spesies foraminifera tersebut cenderung hadir dengan jumlah yang seimbang satu sama lainnya. Kenaikan muka air laut akan menghasilkan lingkungan laut normal yang merupakan kondisi ideal bagi foraminifera. Akhirnya, dari kajian perubahan kelimpahan foraminifera bentik ini, dapat diperkirakan bahwa pada level kedalaman bor 5,5m, terjadi perubahan lingkungan dari lingkungan laut dangkal-laguna menjadi daratan, yang ditandai dengan musnahnya semua jenis foraminifera bentik, termasuk Ammonia beccarii. HAsil kajian ini merupakan kontribusi baru untuk mempelajari perubahan lingkungan pada lokasi penelitian, terutama penting untuk lebih mengerti mengenai perubahan muka air laut dan perubahan iklim. Keywords: Benthic foraminifera, Holocene, paleoenvironmental changes, sea level changes


GeoHazards ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-320
Author(s):  
Shane Orchard ◽  
Hallie S. Fischman ◽  
Shawn Gerrity ◽  
Tommaso Alestra ◽  
Robyn Dunmore ◽  
...  

Widespread mortality of intertidal biota was observed following the 7.8 Mw Kaikōura earthquake in November 2016. To understand drivers of change and recovery in nearshore ecosystems, we quantified the variation in relative sea-level changes caused by tectonic uplift and evaluated their relationships with ecological impacts with a view to establishing the minimum threshold and overall extent of the major effects on rocky shores. Vertical displacement of contiguous 50 m shoreline sections was assessed using comparable LiDAR data to address initial and potential ongoing change across a 100 km study area. Co-seismic uplift accounted for the majority of relative sea-level change at most locations. Only small changes were detected beyond the initial earthquake event, but they included the weathering of reef platforms and accumulation of mobile gravels that continue to shape the coast. Intertidal vegetation losses were evident in equivalent intertidal zones at all uplifted sites despite considerable variation in the vertical displacement they experienced. Nine of ten uplifted sites suffered severe (>80%) loss in habitat-forming algae and included the lowest uplift values (0.6 m). These results show a functional threshold of c.1/4 of the tidal range above which major impacts were sustained. Evidently, compensatory recovery has not occurred—but more notably, previously subtidal algae that were uplifted into the low intertidal zone where they ought to persist (but did not) suggests additional post-disturbance adversities that have contributed to the overall effect. Continuing research will investigate differences in recovery trajectories across the affected area to identify factors and processes that will lead to the regeneration of ecosystems and resources.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 556-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joakim Donner ◽  
Högne Jungner

Radiocarbon dates of marine shells from Central West Greenland, Finnmark, in North Norway, and Dublin Bay, in Ireland, were used in dating relative sea-level changes. When fossil assemblages and formation of marine deposits and their relationship to sea-level were taken into account, the constructed curves of relative sea-level changes agreed with the shell dates. The origin of the shells in the deposits studied varied from site to site, but the dates gave additional information of the formation of marine deposits which could not have been obtained from the study of sediments alone.


1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Simmons ◽  
C. L. Williams

Abstract. Following the May 1992 meeting in Dijon, which initiated an international project on the “Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins”, it seems an appropriate time to consider the contribution micropalaeontology can make to the science of sequence stratigraphy. In this short note, we assume that readers are familiar with sequence stratigraphic terminology; if not, see Van Wagoner et al. (1988).WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY?Demonstrating global eustatic sea-level change. We accept that the basic sequence stratigraphy model put forward by Peter Vail and his colleagues (see Van Wagoner et al., 1988 for a summary) is a powerful tool for describing many sedimentary successions, and that the associated eustatic sea-level curve (Haq et al., 1987) has some validity. Our own observations on numerous sedimentary sequences around the world suggest that local and global eustatic events exist, and that relative sea-level curves can be constructed, but it should be remembered that the timing and magnitude of many global eustatic events are still to be established. As most workers in the field will be aware, much of the evidence to support the Haq et al. curve has not been published. The Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins Project will go some way to rectify this, but it should be borne in mind that there can be an unfortunate tendency to use the Haq et al. curve for dating in its own right - i.e. fitting relative sea-level changes seen in a succession to the curve. If this is done, then the global . . .


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