A Mid-Holocene sea level fluctuation in South Carolina

Conference · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:6119945

Gayes, P T; Nelson, D D ^[1]; Scott, D B; Collins, E ^[2]

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1. Univ. of South Carolina-Coastal Carolina Coll., Conway, SC (United States). Marine and Wetland Studies
2. Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). Centre for Marine Geology

A high stand of relative sea level occurred at 4.2 ka in Murrells Inlet on the northern coast of South Carolina. The event was identified using benthic foraminiferal zonations, marsh stratigraphic relations and radiocarbon data. This highstand reached a maximum of approximately [minus]1 meter MSD and was followed by a fall of 2 meters until 3.6 ka. Subsequent to 3.6 ka submergence was slow averaging 10 cm/century to the present. A second smaller fluctuation may have occurred around 2.5 ka but remains poorly constrained. Although a Mid-Holocene highstand had been suggested by others, it has not been well constrained. New data from North Inlet, South Carolina also record a baselevel change in the Mid-Holocene. Strong differential submergence between Murrells Inlet and Santee Delta, South Carolina, has occurred over the last 4 ka, probably as a result of sediment loading by and subsidence of, the Santee Delta. The occurrence of the 4.2 ka highstand corresponds in the range (7 [minus] 4 ka) to that of the Holocene Hypsithermal. The rate and magnitude of the relative sea level fluctuation are similar to those projected for future flooding and suggest that the evaluation of the Hypsithermal highstand may provide an insight to continued sea-level rise.

• OSTI ID: 6119945
• Report Number(s): CONF-9304188-; CODEN: GAAPBC
• Journal Information: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:4; Conference: 42. annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Southeastern Section meeting, Tallahassee, FL (United States), 1-2 Apr 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
COASTAL REGIONS
STRATIGRAPHY
QUATERNARY PERIOD
SEA LEVEL
SOUTH CAROLINA
CARBON 13
FLOODS
FLUCTUATIONS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
ISOTOPE DATING
PALEONTOLOGY
AGE ESTIMATION
CARBON ISOTOPES
CENOZOIC ERA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISASTERS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGY
ISOTOPES
LEVELS
LIGHT NUCLEI
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
STABLE ISOTOPES
USA
VARIATIONS
580000* - Geosciences