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Holocene relative sea levels and coastal changes in the lower Cree valley and estuary, SW Scotland, U.K.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2007

D. E. Smith
Affiliation:
School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TB, U.K.
J. M. Wells
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Science, School of Science and the Environment, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K.
T. M. Mighall
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Science, School of Science and the Environment, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K.
R. A. Cullingford
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, U.K.
L. K. Holloway
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Science, School of Science and the Environment, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K.
S. Dawson
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Science, School of Science and the Environment, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, U.K.
C. L. Brooks
Affiliation:
18, Bullfinch Close, Creekmoor, Poole, Dorset BH17 7UP, U.K.

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 14C 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 14C 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 14C B.P. (c. 5,800 calibrated years B.P.), before relative sea level fell to a later shoreline, reached after c. 2900 14C 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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Royal Society of Edinburgh 2002

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