Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T00:26:18.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Past Sea Levels, Eustasy and Deformation of the Earth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. I. Walcott
R. I. Walcott*
Affiliation:
Earth Physics Branch, Dept. Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, Canada K1A OE4
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Vertical movements of the earth's surface related to postglacial rebound, the eustatic rise in sea level and the elastic deformation of the globe due to melting of late glacial ice sheets are calculated for simplified models of the earth. The movements of the ground are large and require a reevaluation of what is meant by eustatic sea level change. This is defined here as an ocean-wide average change in mean sea level and its measurement requires widely distributed observations weighted according to the areas of oceans they represent. Evidence of a postglacial (6000-0 years BP) relative rise in sea level comes largely from regions affected by ground subsidence related to adjacent upward postglacial rebound movements in deglaciated areas: evidence for a relative fall of sea level comes from coastlines well removed from areas of rebound and which have been affected by a rise of the continental areas through compensation for the eustatic load. It is concluded: (1) no substantial eustatic change of sea level in the past 6,000 years is required to explain postglacial sea levels: (2) in late glacial time the eustatic curve is probably more like the sea level curve of Texas and Mexico than that of the Atlantic seaboard of the United States: (3) that the information of past sea levels, when sufficiently widespread, can provide an important method of studying the deep mechanical structure of the earth.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , July 1972 , pp. 1 - 14
Copyright
Academic Press, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alterman, Z. Jarosch, H. Pekeris, C.L. (1961). Propagation of Rayleigh waves in the earth Geophysical Journal 4 219–241.Google Scholar
American Geophysical Institute (1960). Glossary of Geology and Related Sciences Second edition Google Scholar
Anderson, D.L. (1967). Latest information from seismic observations In The Earth's Mantle Gaskell, T.F., Ed.),pp. 355–420. Academic Press New York Google Scholar
Barrell, J. (1914). The strength of the earth's crust; Part VI. Relations of isostatic movements to a sphere of weakness—the Asthenosphere Journal of Geology 22 655–683.Google Scholar
Bloom, A.L. (1967). Pleistocene shorelines: A new test of isostasy Geological Society of America Bulletin 78 1477–1493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, A.L. (1970). Paludal stratigraphy of Truk, Ponape and Kusaie Eastern Caroline Islands Geological Society of America Bulletin 81 1895–1904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daly, R.A. (1925). Pleistocene changes of level American Journal of Science 10 281–313. 5th series Google Scholar
Daly, R.A. (1934). "The Changing World of the Ice Age" Yale University Press Google Scholar
Daly, R.A. (1940). "Strength and Structure of the Earth" Prentice-Hall New York Google Scholar
Emery, K.O. Garrison, L.E. (1967). Sea levels 7,000 to 20,000 years ago Science 157 684–687.Google Scholar
Fairbridge, R.W. (1961). Eustatic changes in sea level. In Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 4 (Ahrens, L.H., Ed.), pp. 99–185. Pergamon New York and London Google Scholar
Fairbridge, R.W. Newman, W.S. (1968). Postglacial crustal subsidence of the New York area Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie 12 296–317.Google Scholar
Grant, D.R. (1970). Recent coastal submergence of the Maritime Provinces, Canada Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7 676–689.Google Scholar
Gutenberg, B. (1941). Changes in sea level, postglacial uplift and mobility of the earth's interior Geological Society of America Bulletin 52 721–772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffreys, H. (1952). The Earth 3rd edition Cambridge University Press Google Scholar
Jeffreys, H. (1970). The Earth> 5th edition, Cambridge University Press +5th+edition,+Cambridge+University+Press>Google Scholar
Jelgersma, S. (1966). Sea level changes during the last 10,000 years In "Proceedings of the international Symposium on World Climate, 8000-0 BC," 229 pp. Royal Meteorological Society, London Google Scholar
Krass, M.S. Ushakov, S.A. (1969). Some effects of the dynamics of glacial isostasy of the upper mantle in the peripheral zone of regions of continental glaciation Izvestia, Earth Physics 1 48–52.Google Scholar
Lliboutry, L.A. (1971). Rheological properties of the asthenosphere from Fennoscandian data Journal of Geophysical Research 76 1433–1446.Google Scholar
Longman, I.M. (1962). A Green's function for determining the deformation of the earth under surface mass loads, 1. Theory Journal of Geophysical Research 67 845–850.Google Scholar
Longman, I.M. (1963). A Green's function for determining the deformation of the earth under surface mass loads, 2. Computations and Numerical Results Journal of Geophysical Research 68 485–496.Google Scholar
McConnell, R.K. (1965). Isostatic adjustment in a layered earth Journal of Geophysical Research 70 5171–5188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milliman, J.D. Emery, K.O. (1968). Sea levels during the past 35,000 years Science 162 1121–1122.Google Scholar
Mörner, Nils-Axel (1971). Eustatic and climatic oscillations Arctic and Alpine Research 3 167–171.Google Scholar
Munk, W.H. MacDonald, C.J.F. (1960). The Rotation of the Earth—A Geophysical Discussion Cambridge University Press Google Scholar
Newell, N.D. (1961). Recent terraces of tropical limestone shores In "Pacific Island Terraces: Eustatic?" (Russell, R.J., Ed.), Zeitschrifte fur Geomorphologie Supplementband 3 87–106.Google Scholar
Noakes, J.E. Brandau, B.L. (1971). University of Georgia radiocarbon dates, I Radiocarbon 13 468–474.Google Scholar
Prest, V.K. (1969). Retreat of Wisconsin and Recent Ice in North America Geological Survey of Canada Map 1257 A Google Scholar
Redfield, A.C. (1967). Postglacial change in sea level in the western North Atlantic ocean Science 157 687–692.Google Scholar
Rudzki, M.P. (1889). Deformation derErde unter der Last des Inlandeises Bulletin International de l'Academie des Sciences de Cracovie 168 48 Google Scholar
Sauramo, M. (1939). The mode of the land upheaval in Fennoscandia during 1 late-Quaternary time Compte Rendus de la Societe Geologique de Finlande 13 Google Scholar
Schofield, J.C. (1960). Sea level fluctuations during the last 4,000 years as recorded by a chenier plain, Firth of Thames, New Zealand New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 3 467–485.Google Scholar
Scholl, D.W. Craighead, F.C. Stuiver, M. (1969). Florida submergence curve revised: its relation to coastal sedimentation rates Science 163 562–564.Google Scholar
Slichter, L.B. Caputo, M. (1960). Deformation of an earth model produced by surface pressures Journal of Geophysical Research 65 4151–4156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takeuchi, J. Hasegawa, Y. (1965). Viscosity distribution within the earth Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 9 503–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Andel, T.H. Laborel, J. (1964). Recent high relative sea level stand near Recife, Brazil Science 145 580–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walcott, R.I. (1970). Flexural rigidity, thickness and viscosity of the lithosphere Journal of Geophysical Research 75 3941–3954.Google Scholar
Walcott, R.I. (1972a). Characteristics of recent uplift in North America Symposium Recent Crustal Movements August 1971, Moscow (in press)Google Scholar
Walcott, R.I. (1972). Inferences of upper mantle rheology from Quaternary deformation Symposium Recent Crustal Movements August 1971, Moscow (in press) Google Scholar
Weertman, J. (1970). The creep strength of earth's mantle Review of Geophysics and Space Physics 8 145–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar