PATTERNS OF ISOSTATIC UPLIFT FOR THE HOLOCENE IN SCOTLAND AS DETERMINED BY GAUSSIAN TREND SURFACE ANALYSIS

Isobase models showing land uplift in Scotland, UK, at intervals during the mid and late Holocene are produced using over 3000 altitudes on comparable shorelines analysed by Gaussian Trend Surface Analysis. This analytical technique is an improvement on Polynomial Trend Surface Analysis because it produces a figure for which the base value is zero, rather than trending to infinity, and can thus provide an estimate of actual sea surface levels beyond a centre of isostatic uplift provided the figure corresponds to the data within statistically acceptable limits. Using data from several dated shorelines permits any changes in the spatial pattern of uplift over time to be determined. In the analysis shown here, each of the four models produced fit the shoreline altitude data closely, while the changing sea surface level indicated accords reasonably well with patterns derived from studies elsewhere. It is argued that the method used has considerable potential in determining isostatic uplift in previously glaciated areas, provided adequate comparable shoreline altitudes are available.