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Late Glacial to Holocene relative sea-level change in Assynt, northwest Scotland, UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christine A. Hamilton ,
Jeremy M. Lloyd ,
Natasha L.M. Barlow ,
James B. Innes ,
Rachel Flecker  and
Caleb P. Thomas
Christine A. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Geography Department, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Jeremy M. Lloyd
Affiliation:
Geography Department, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Natasha L.M. Barlow
Affiliation:
Geography Department, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
James B. Innes
Affiliation:
Geography Department, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Rachel Flecker
Affiliation:
School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
Caleb P. Thomas
Affiliation:
School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
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Abstract

Relative sea-level change (RSL), from the Late Glacial through to the late Holocene, is reconstructed for the Assynt region, northwest Scotland, based on bio- and lithostratigraphical analysis. Four new radiocarbon-dated sea-level index points help constrain RSL change for the Late Glacial to the late Holocene. These new data, in addition to published material, capture the RSL fall during the Late Glacial and the rise and fall associated with the mid-Holocene highstand. Two of these index points constrain the Late Glacial RSL history in Assynt for the first time, reconstructing RSL falling from 2.47 ± 0.59 m OD to 0.15 ± 0.59 m OD at c. 14,000–15,000 cal yr BP. These new data test model predictions of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), particularly during the early deglacial period which is currently poorly constrained throughout the British Isles. Whilst the empirical data from the mid- to late-Holocene to present matches quite well with the recent GIA model output, there is a relatively poor fit between the timing of the Late Glacial RSL fall and early Holocene RSL rise. This mismatch, also evident elsewhere in northwest Scotland, may result from uncertainties associated with both the global and local ice components of GIA models.

Keywords

Sea levelGlacial isostatic adjustmentPalaeoenvironmental reconstructionLate Glacial
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 84 , Issue 2 , September 2015 , pp. 214 - 222
Copyright
University of Washington

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