Late Quaternary relative sea-level change in the western Gulf of Maine; evidence for a migrating glacial forebulge

New radiocarbon-dated cores obtained by Vibracorers in the western Gulf of Maine confirm that a short-lived, relative sea-level lowstand of ∼-55 m occurred at 11-10.5 ka. These cores and younger salt-marsh data also reveal that rates of transgression varied throughout the Holocene, probably due to l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology (Boulder) 1995-04, Vol.23 (4), p.317-320
Main Authors: Barnhardt, Walter A, Gehrels, W. Roland, Belknap, Daniel F, Kelley, Joseph T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
absolute age
Atlantic Ocean
C-14
carbon
Cenozoic
continental shelf
cores
dates
deglaciation
Geochronology
Geology
glacial geology
glaciation
Gulf of Maine
Ice ages
inner shelf
isostasy
isostatic rebound
isotopes
Laurentide ice sheet
Maine
Marine
marine sediments
North Atlantic
Oceanography
Pleistocene
Quaternary
Quaternary geology
radioactive isotopes
Sea level
sea-level changes
sediments
United States
upper Pleistocene
upper Quaternary
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Summary:New radiocarbon-dated cores obtained by Vibracorers in the western Gulf of Maine confirm that a short-lived, relative sea-level lowstand of ∼-55 m occurred at 11-10.5 ka. These cores and younger salt-marsh data also reveal that rates of transgression varied throughout the Holocene, probably due to local variations in glacial isostasy. The isostatic component is resolved by subtracting published approximations of eustatic sea level from our well-determined observations of local relative sea level. A large peak in the isostatic curve coincides with the lowstand and is interpreted as a forebulge 20-25 m in amplitude. Forebulge migration is estimated at 7-11 km/100 yr, based on the timing of lowstands across the region.
ISSN:0091-7613
1943-2682
DOI:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0317:LQRSLC>2.3.CO;2