Palynological Record of an Early-Mid Holocene Mangrove in Eastern Venezuela. Implications for Sea-Level Rise and Disturbance History

The purpose of the present report is to document the occurrence of a Holocene mangrove community on the southern Caribbean margin, and to build up a preliminary sea-level curve for Venezuela. This is accomplished through pollen analysis of a buried coastal peat layer at 9.4 m depth, as well as anato...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of coastal research 1999-01, Vol.15 (2), p.496-504
Main Authors: Rull, Valentí, Vegas-Vilarrúbia, Teresa, Narcisana Espinoza de Pernía
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coasts
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Mangrove forests
Marine and continental quaternary
Paleobotany
Paleontology
Palynology
Peat
Pollen
Radiocarbon dating
Rhizophora
Sea level
Sea level rise
Sediments
Spores
Surficial geology
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of the present report is to document the occurrence of a Holocene mangrove community on the southern Caribbean margin, and to build up a preliminary sea-level curve for Venezuela. This is accomplished through pollen analysis of a buried coastal peat layer at 9.4 m depth, as well as anatomical analysis and radiocarbon dating of an overlying wood fragment. The pollen assemblage from the peat layer is analogous to those found in present-day Caribbean mangroves. The wood comes from a 6,960±70 year old Rhizophora tree. This is used as evidence of a in situ mangrove community and, consequently, of the position of sea level at that time. A tentative curve for sea-level rise is presented, by compilation of radiocarbon dates on mangrove peats and corals. This study is a contribution to the evaluation of recent sea-level increase connected to the global warming, its main value being the possibility of recognizing the natural trend in sea-level rise, and separate it from the human-induced effect.
ISSN:0749-0208
1551-5036