Relative sea-level changes in the Solway Firth, Southwest Scotland

D. E. Smith, J. M. Wells, Timothy Michael Mighall, R. Cullingford, L. Hollway, S. Dawson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Changes in Holocene (Flandrian) relative sea levels and coastal geomorphology in the lower Cree valley and estuary, SW Scotland, are inferred from detailed morphological and stratigraphical investigations. A graph of relative sea level changes is proposed for the area. Rising relative sea levels during the early Holocene were interrupted at c. 8300-8600 C-14 years B.P. (c. 9400-9900 calibrated years B.P.). when an extensive estuarine surface was reached at c. -1 m O.D., after which a fluctuating rise culminated at c. 6100-6500 C-14 B.P. (c. 7000-7500 calibrated years B.P.) in a prominent shoreline and associated estuarine surface measured at 7.7-10.3 m O.D. A subsequent fall in relative sea level was followed by a rise to a shoreline at 7.8-10.1 m O.D., exceeding or reoccupying the earlier shoreline over much of the area after c. 5000 C-14 B.P. (c. 5,800 calibrated years B.P.), before relative sea level fell to a later shoreline, reached after c. 2900 C-14 B.P. (c. 3100 calibrated years B.P.) at 5.5-8.0 m O.D., following which relative sea levels fell, ultimately reaching present levels. During these changes, a particular feature of the coastline was the development of a number of barrier systems. The relative sea level changes identified are compared with changes elsewhere in SW Scotland and their wider context is briefly considered.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)301-331
Number of pages30
JournalTransactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh-Earth
Volume93
Publication statusPublished - 2003

Keywords

  • diatoms
  • foraminifera
  • glacio-isostasy
  • morphology
  • ostracoda
  • particle size
  • pollen
  • shoreline
  • stratigraphy
  • AGE CALIBRATION
  • BRITISH-ISLES
  • LAND
  • RISE
  • BP

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