Handbook of Sea-Level Research (eBook)

Professor Ian Shennan, also from the Department of Geography of Durham University, UK undertakes research on sea-level change, earthquakes and tsunami and the development of relevant scientific approaches and techniques. Professor Antony J Long, from the Department of Geography of Durham University, UK is a sea-level scientist with a particular interest in reconstructing past sea-level change from polar regions. Dr Ben Horton is a Professor at the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences of Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. He aims to understand and integrate the external and internal mechanisms that have determined sea-level changes in the past, and which will shape such changes in the future. All three have conducted field-based research in diverse environments, from the tropics to high latitudes, much with the backing of the major research agencies in the UK, Europe and the USA as well as commercial and government stakeholders.

List of contributors vii

Preface xi

About the companion website xiii

1. Introduction 1
Ian Shennan, Antony J. Long, and Benjamin P. Horton

2. Handbook of sea-level research: framing research questions 3
Ian Shennan

PART 1: Field techniques for sea-level reconstruction

3. Pre-fieldwork surveys 29
Robert C. Witter

4. Coastal sediments 47
Alan R. Nelson

5. Geomorphological indicators of past sea levels 66
Harvey M. Kelsey

6. Coastal caves and sinkholes 83
Peter J. van Hengstum, David A. Richards, Bogdan P. Onac, and Jeffrey A. Dorale

7. Coral reefs 104
Yusuke Yokoyama and Tezer M. Esat

8. Coral microatolls 125
Aron J. Meltzner and Colin D. Woodroffe

9. Archeological and biological relative sea-level indicators 146
Christophe Morhange and Nick Marriner

10. GPS and surveying 157
James Foster

11. Reference water level and tidal datum 171
Sarah A. Woodroffe and Natasha L. M. Barlow

PART 2: Laboratory techniques

12. Techniques and applications of plant macrofossil analysis in sea-level studies 183
Martyn Waller

13. Foraminifera 191
Robin Edwards and Alex Wright

14. Pollen and spores of terrestrial plants 218
Christopher E. Bernhardt and Debra A. Willard

15. Diatoms 233
Yongqiang Zong and Yuki Sawai

16. Ostracods and sea level 249
Thomas M. Cronin

17. Mollusca 258
Jessica E. Pilarczyk and Donald C. Barber

18. Fixed biological indicators 268
Alessio Rovere, Fabrizio Antonioli, and Carlo Nike Bianchi

19. Testate amoebae 281
Dan J. Charman

20. Stable carbon isotope and C/N geochemistry of coastal wetland sediments as a sea-level indicator 295
Nicole S. Khan, Christopher H. Vane, and Benjamin P. Horton

21. Loss on ignition and organic content 312
Andrew J. Plater, Jason R. Kirby, John F. Boyle, Timothy Shaw, and Hayley Mills

22. Grain size analysis 331
Adam D. Switzer and Jeremy Pile

PART 3: Dating methods

23. Radiocarbon dating and calibration 349
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Brad E. Rosenheim, Ping Hu, and Alvaro B. Fernandez

24. 210Lead and 137Cesium: establishing a chronology for the last century 361
D. Reide Corbett and J.P. Walsh

25. Chronohorizons: indirect and unique event dating methods for sea-level reconstructions 373
Wil Marshall

26. Uranium-thorium dating 386
Andrea Dutton

27. The application of luminescence dating in sea-level studies 404
Mark D. Bateman

PART 4: Modeling

28. Glacial isostatic adjustment 421
Glenn A. Milne

29. Tidal modeling 438
Stephen D. Griffiths and David F. Hill

30. Compaction 452
Matthew J. Brain

31. Transfer functions 470
Andrew C. Kemp and Richard J. Telford

32. Using chronological models in late Holocene sea-level reconstructions from saltmarsh sediments 500
Andrew C. Parnell and W. Roland Gehrels

33. Paleogeography 514
Geert-Jan Vis, Kim M. Cohen, Wim E. Westerhoff, Johan H. Ten Veen, Marc P. Hijma, Ad J.F. van der Spek, and Peter C. Vos

34. A protocol for a geological sea-level database 536
Marc P. Hijma, Simon E. Engelhart, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Benjamin P. Horton, Ping Hu, and David F. Hill

PART 5: Direct measurements

35. Sea-level measurements from tide gauges 557
Philip L. Woodworth, David T. Pugh, and Andrew J. Plater

Index 575