Holocene Relative Sea-Level Changes from Near-, Intermediate-, and Far-Field Locations

Abstract

Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) records exhibit spatial and temporal variability that arises mainly from the interaction of eustatic (land ice volume and thermal expansion) and isostatic (glacio- and hydro-) factors. We fit RSL histories from near-, intermediate-, and far-field locations with noisy-input Gaussian process models to assess rates of RSL change. Records from near-field regions (e.g., Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Sweden, and Scotland) reveal a complex pattern of RSL fall from a maximum marine limit due to the net effect of eustatic sea-level rise and glacio-isostatic uplift with rates of RSL fall as great as −69 ± 9 m/ka. Intermediate-field regions (e.g., mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA, Netherlands, Southern France, St. Croix) display variable rates of RSL rise from the cumulative effect of eustatic and isostatic factors. Fast rates of RSL rise (up to 10 ± 1 m/ka) are found in the early Holocene in regions near the center of forebulge collapse. Far-field RSL records exhibit a mid-Holocene highstand, the timing (between 8 and 4 ka) and magnitude (between <1 and 6 m) of which varies among South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania regions.