Late Glacial to Holocene relative sea level change in Assynt, northwest Scotland, UK

Hamilton, C.; Lloyd, J.M.; Barlow, N.L.M.; Innes, J.B.; Flecker, R.; Thomas, C.

Abstract

Relative sea-level change (RSL), from the Late Glacial through to the late Holocene, is reconstructed for the Assynt region, northwest Scotland, based on bio- and lithostratigraphical analysis. Four new radiocarbon-dated sea-level index points help constrain RSL change for the Late Glacial to late Holocene. These new data, in addition to published material, capture the RSL fall during the Late Glacial and the rise and fall associated with the mid-Holocene highstand. Two of these index points constrain the Late Glacial RSL history in Assynt for the first time, reconstructing RSL falling from 2.47 ± 0.59 m OD to 0.15 ± 0.59 m OD at c. 14000 - 15000 cal yr BP. These new data test model predictions of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), particularly during the early deglacial period which is currently poorly constrained throughout the British Isles. While the empirical data from the mid- to late-Holocene to present matches quite well with recent GIA model output, there is a relatively poor fit between the timing of the Late Glacial RSL fall and early Holocene RSL rise. This mismatch, also evident elsewhere in northwest Scotland, may result from uncertainties associated with both the global and local ice components of GIA models.

Citation

Hamilton, C., Lloyd, J., Barlow, N., Innes, J., Flecker, R., & Thomas, C. (2015). Late Glacial to Holocene relative sea level change in Assynt, northwest Scotland, UK. Quaternary Research, 84(2), 214-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2015.07.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 10, 2015
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jul 13, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 29, 2016
• Journal: Quaternary Research
• Print ISSN: 0033-5894
• Electronic ISSN: 1096-0287
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 84
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 214-222
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2015.07.001
• Keywords: Sea level, Glacial isostatic adjustment, Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, Late Glacial.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1425409