Holocene relative sea level change in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

Jason T. Jordan; D. Smith; S. Dawson; A. Dawson

Abstract

Evidence for relative sea level changes during the middle and late Holocene is examined from two locations on the Atlantic coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, using morphological mapping and survey, stratigraphical, grain size and diatom analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The objective was to determine whether this location, peripheral to a glacio-isostatic uplift centre, would register fluctuations in the nearshore sea surface and whether local variations in ice loading might be detected in the altitudes of sea level index points. The earliest event identified is a marine flood, which occurred after 7982-8348
calibrated years (7370±8014C years) BP, when the sea crossed a threshold lying at -0.08m OD (-2.17m MHWS) before withdrawing. This could have been due to a storm or to the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami. By 6407-6122 (5500±60) BP, relative sea levels had begun to fall from a sandflat surface with an indicated MHWS level of between 0.08 and - 1.96m (-2.01 to -4.05m). This fall reached between -0.30 and -2.35m (-2.39 to -4.44m) after 5841-5050 (4760±130) BP, but was succeeded by a relative sea level rise which reached between 0.54 and -1.57m (-1.55 to -3.66m) by 5450-4861 (4500±100) BP. This rise continued, possibly with an interruption, until a second sandflat surface was reached
between 2.34 and -0.26m (0.25 to -2.35m) between 2952-3375 (3000±80) and 1948-2325 (2130±70) BP, before present levels were reached. The regressive episode from the earliest sandflat is correlated with the abandonment of the Main Postglacial Shoreline. It is maintained that the fluctuations in relative sea level recorded can be correlated with similar events elsewhere on the periphery of the glacio-isostatic centre and may therefore reflect secular changes in nearshore sea surface levels. Despite published evidence from trim lines
of differential ice sheet loading across the area, no evidence of variations in uplift between the locations concerned could be found.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - Jan 2010
Event	QRA Annual Meeting - Durham, United Kingdom Duration: 5 Jan 2010 → 8 Jan 2010 https://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/slru/qra-agm-2010/programme/

Conference

Conference	QRA Annual Meeting
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Durham
Period	5/01/10 → 8/01/10
Internet address	https://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/slru/qra-agm-2010/programme/

Bibliographical note

This paper was an oral presentation. The full abstract is available from the link given (page 19).
Presented at the Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion Meeting: Sea-level Changes: the Science of a Changing World. Held 5-8 January 2010 at Durham University, UK. The conference website can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/conferences/qra/
See also:
Jordan, J.T. , Smith, D.E. , Dawson, S. and Dawson, A.G. (2010) Holocene relative sea-level changes in Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. Journal of Quaternary Science, volume 25 (2): 115-134
http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/items/1b19ab61-4a76-154d-d9c1-1a3a29855f21/1/

Keywords

relative sea level
holocene

Access to Document

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/geography/qra/Abstracts.pdf

1 Article

Holocene relative sea-level changes in Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK
Jordan, J. T., Smith, D. E., Dawson, S. & Dawson, A. G., Feb 2010, In: Journal of Quaternary Science. 25, 2, p. 115-134
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Open Access

33 Citations (Scopus)

Cite this

@conference{c5a34f415ad349cb94142770407ea12b,

title = "Holocene relative sea level change in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK",

abstract = "Evidence for relative sea level changes during the middle and late Holocene is examined from two locations on the Atlantic coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, using morphological mapping and survey, stratigraphical, grain size and diatom analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The objective was to determine whether this location, peripheral to a glacio-isostatic uplift centre, would register fluctuations in the nearshore sea surface and whether local variations in ice loading might be detected in the altitudes of sea level index points. The earliest event identified is a marine flood, which occurred after 7982-8348calibrated years (7370±8014C years) BP, when the sea crossed a threshold lying at -0.08m OD (-2.17m MHWS) before withdrawing. This could have been due to a storm or to the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami. By 6407-6122 (5500±60) BP, relative sea levels had begun to fall from a sandflat surface with an indicated MHWS level of between 0.08 and - 1.96m (-2.01 to -4.05m). This fall reached between -0.30 and -2.35m (-2.39 to -4.44m) after 5841-5050 (4760±130) BP, but was succeeded by a relative sea level rise which reached between 0.54 and -1.57m (-1.55 to -3.66m) by 5450-4861 (4500±100) BP. This rise continued, possibly with an interruption, until a second sandflat surface was reachedbetween 2.34 and -0.26m (0.25 to -2.35m) between 2952-3375 (3000±80) and 1948-2325 (2130±70) BP, before present levels were reached. The regressive episode from the earliest sandflat is correlated with the abandonment of the Main Postglacial Shoreline. It is maintained that the fluctuations in relative sea level recorded can be correlated with similar events elsewhere on the periphery of the glacio-isostatic centre and may therefore reflect secular changes in nearshore sea surface levels. Despite published evidence from trim linesof differential ice sheet loading across the area, no evidence of variations in uplift between the locations concerned could be found.",

keywords = "relative sea level, holocene",

author = "Jordan, {Jason T.} and D. Smith and S. Dawson and A. Dawson",

note = "This paper was an oral presentation. The full abstract is available from the link given (page 19). Presented at the Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion Meeting: Sea-level Changes: the Science of a Changing World. Held 5-8 January 2010 at Durham University, UK. The conference website can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/conferences/qra/ See also: Jordan, J.T. , Smith, D.E. , Dawson, S. and Dawson, A.G. (2010) Holocene relative sea-level changes in Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. Journal of Quaternary Science, volume 25 (2): 115-134 http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/items/1b19ab61-4a76-154d-d9c1-1a3a29855f21/1/; QRA Annual Meeting<br/> ; Conference date: 05-01-2010 Through 08-01-2010",

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T1 - Holocene relative sea level change in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

AU - Jordan, Jason T.

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AU - Dawson, S.

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N1 - This paper was an oral presentation. The full abstract is available from the link given (page 19). Presented at the Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion Meeting: Sea-level Changes: the Science of a Changing World. Held 5-8 January 2010 at Durham University, UK. The conference website can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/conferences/qra/ See also: Jordan, J.T. , Smith, D.E. , Dawson, S. and Dawson, A.G. (2010) Holocene relative sea-level changes in Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. Journal of Quaternary Science, volume 25 (2): 115-134 http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/items/1b19ab61-4a76-154d-d9c1-1a3a29855f21/1/

PY - 2010/1

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N2 - Evidence for relative sea level changes during the middle and late Holocene is examined from two locations on the Atlantic coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, using morphological mapping and survey, stratigraphical, grain size and diatom analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The objective was to determine whether this location, peripheral to a glacio-isostatic uplift centre, would register fluctuations in the nearshore sea surface and whether local variations in ice loading might be detected in the altitudes of sea level index points. The earliest event identified is a marine flood, which occurred after 7982-8348calibrated years (7370±8014C years) BP, when the sea crossed a threshold lying at -0.08m OD (-2.17m MHWS) before withdrawing. This could have been due to a storm or to the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami. By 6407-6122 (5500±60) BP, relative sea levels had begun to fall from a sandflat surface with an indicated MHWS level of between 0.08 and - 1.96m (-2.01 to -4.05m). This fall reached between -0.30 and -2.35m (-2.39 to -4.44m) after 5841-5050 (4760±130) BP, but was succeeded by a relative sea level rise which reached between 0.54 and -1.57m (-1.55 to -3.66m) by 5450-4861 (4500±100) BP. This rise continued, possibly with an interruption, until a second sandflat surface was reachedbetween 2.34 and -0.26m (0.25 to -2.35m) between 2952-3375 (3000±80) and 1948-2325 (2130±70) BP, before present levels were reached. The regressive episode from the earliest sandflat is correlated with the abandonment of the Main Postglacial Shoreline. It is maintained that the fluctuations in relative sea level recorded can be correlated with similar events elsewhere on the periphery of the glacio-isostatic centre and may therefore reflect secular changes in nearshore sea surface levels. Despite published evidence from trim linesof differential ice sheet loading across the area, no evidence of variations in uplift between the locations concerned could be found.

AB - Evidence for relative sea level changes during the middle and late Holocene is examined from two locations on the Atlantic coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, using morphological mapping and survey, stratigraphical, grain size and diatom analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The objective was to determine whether this location, peripheral to a glacio-isostatic uplift centre, would register fluctuations in the nearshore sea surface and whether local variations in ice loading might be detected in the altitudes of sea level index points. The earliest event identified is a marine flood, which occurred after 7982-8348calibrated years (7370±8014C years) BP, when the sea crossed a threshold lying at -0.08m OD (-2.17m MHWS) before withdrawing. This could have been due to a storm or to the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami. By 6407-6122 (5500±60) BP, relative sea levels had begun to fall from a sandflat surface with an indicated MHWS level of between 0.08 and - 1.96m (-2.01 to -4.05m). This fall reached between -0.30 and -2.35m (-2.39 to -4.44m) after 5841-5050 (4760±130) BP, but was succeeded by a relative sea level rise which reached between 0.54 and -1.57m (-1.55 to -3.66m) by 5450-4861 (4500±100) BP. This rise continued, possibly with an interruption, until a second sandflat surface was reachedbetween 2.34 and -0.26m (0.25 to -2.35m) between 2952-3375 (3000±80) and 1948-2325 (2130±70) BP, before present levels were reached. The regressive episode from the earliest sandflat is correlated with the abandonment of the Main Postglacial Shoreline. It is maintained that the fluctuations in relative sea level recorded can be correlated with similar events elsewhere on the periphery of the glacio-isostatic centre and may therefore reflect secular changes in nearshore sea surface levels. Despite published evidence from trim linesof differential ice sheet loading across the area, no evidence of variations in uplift between the locations concerned could be found.

KW - relative sea level

KW - holocene

M3 - Abstract

T2 - QRA Annual Meeting<br/>

Y2 - 5 January 2010 through 8 January 2010

ER -