SEA SURFACE LEVEL CHANGES DURING THE HOLOCENE OFFSHORE SCOTLAND, UK

Knowledge of the patterns and trends of sea surface change in the Holocene, both regionally and globally, is in its infancy. Even the most recent published graphs involve large uncertainties. This paper describes a methodology which produces regional sea surface trends based upon information from glacio-isostatically uplifted areas. Using detailed shoreline altitude data from Scotland, where land uplift has been in progress at least since the last ice sheet began to decay, a graph of offshore sea surface trends for the early and mid Holocene has been produced. The graph is based upon dated shorelines, projected across high resolution shoreline isobase patterns, and upon detailed stratigraphical information. It discloses a rapid sea surface rise in the early Holocene, followed by a much slower rise after circa 5500 radiocarbon years BP. During the rapid rise, there were at least two episodes when the rise either slowed or was reversed, whilst after circa 5500 at least two episodes of reversal occurred before the present sea surface trends commenced. Although the potential margin of error of the graph is relatively large, the trends within the graph are considered to be accurate.