Quaternary Coasts of the United States: Marine and Lacustrine Systems

Quaternary Coasts of the United States: Marine and Lacustrine Systems Project #274 Quaternary Coastal Evolution - This Special Publication represents the major cumulative contribution of the Working Group of the United States of America to IGCP Project 274. The primary aims of Project 274 are to: (1) document and explain local to global variations in coastal and continental-shelf evolution, incorporating knowledge of coastal and shelf processes and environment with geodynamic, climatic, oceanographic and other data to produce local and regional models, ranging from descriptive to numerical, leading to a better understanding of interactive forces responsible for past, present and future changes to the coasts of the world; and (2) promote specified thematic studies, which are necessary to solve problems of coastal change affecting human occupation of the coastal zone. The volume contains sections on Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Lacustrine shorelines, covering both Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, representing a summary of decades of research into coastal and continental-shelf evolution of North America.
A Late Holocene Sea-Level Fluctuation in South Carolina
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Published:January 01, 1992
Abstract
A highstand of relative sea level occurred at 4.2 ka in Murrells Inlet on the northern coast of South Carolina. The highstand was followed by a sea-level fall of 2 m until 3.6 ka and then a slow, steady sea-level rise of 10 cm/century to the present. Although a mid-Holocene highstand has been suggested by others, it has not been well constrained.
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 system. The occurrence of the 4.2-ka highstand corresponds to the range (7-4 ka) of the mid-Holocene Hypsithermal. The rate and magnitude of the relative sea-level fluctuation are similar to those projected for future flooding and suggest that evaluation of the Hypsithermal highstand may provide an insight to projected greenhouse-effect-related change for the future.