Handbook of Sea-Level Research. Edition No. 1. Wiley Works

Measuring sea-level change – be that rise or fall – is one of the most pressing scientific goals of our time and requires robust scientific approaches and techniques. This Handbook aims to provide a practical guide to readers interested in this challenge, from the initial design of research approaches through to the practical issues of data collection and interpretation from a diverse range of coastal environments. Building on thirty years of international research, the Handbook comprises 38 chapters that are authored by leading experts from around the world. The Handbook will be an important resource to scientists interested and involved in understanding sea-level changes across a broad range of disciplines, policy makers wanting to appreciate our current state of knowledge of sea-level change over different timescales, and many teachers at the university level, as well as advanced-level undergraduates and postgraduate research students, wanting to learn more about sea-level change.

List of contributors vii

Preface xi

About the companion website xiii

1. Introduction 1
Ian Shennan, Antony J. Long, and Benjamin P. Horton

2. Handbook of sea-level research: framing research questions 3
Ian Shennan

PART 1: Field techniques for sea-level reconstruction

3. Pre-fieldwork surveys 29
Robert C. Witter

4. Coastal sediments 47
Alan R. Nelson

5. Geomorphological indicators of past sea levels 66
Harvey M. Kelsey

6. Coastal caves and sinkholes 83
Peter J. van Hengstum, David A. Richards, Bogdan P. Onac, and Jeffrey A. Dorale

7. Coral reefs 104
Yusuke Yokoyama and Tezer M. Esat

8. Coral microatolls 125
Aron J. Meltzner and Colin D. Woodroffe

9. Archeological and biological relative sea-level indicators 146
Christophe Morhange and Nick Marriner

10. GPS and surveying 157
James Foster

11. Reference water level and tidal datum 171
Sarah A. Woodroffe and Natasha L. M. Barlow

PART 2: Laboratory techniques

12. Techniques and applications of plant macrofossil analysis in sea-level studies 183
Martyn Waller

13. Foraminifera 191
Robin Edwards and Alex Wright

14. Pollen and spores of terrestrial plants 218
Christopher E. Bernhardt and Debra A. Willard

15. Diatoms 233
Yongqiang Zong and Yuki Sawai

16. Ostracods and sea level 249
Thomas M. Cronin

17. Mollusca 258
Jessica E. Pilarczyk and Donald C. Barber

18. Fixed biological indicators 268
Alessio Rovere, Fabrizio Antonioli, and Carlo Nike Bianchi

19. Testate amoebae 281
Dan J. Charman

20. Stable carbon isotope and C/N geochemistry of coastal wetland sediments as a sea-level indicator 295
Nicole S. Khan, Christopher H. Vane, and Benjamin P. Horton

21. Loss on ignition and organic content 312
Andrew J. Plater, Jason R. Kirby, John F. Boyle, Timothy Shaw, and Hayley Mills

22. Grain size analysis 331
Adam D. Switzer and Jeremy Pile

PART 3: Dating methods

23. Radiocarbon dating and calibration 349
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Brad E. Rosenheim, Ping Hu, and Alvaro B. Fernandez

24. 210Lead and 137Cesium: establishing a chronology for the last century 361
D. Reide Corbett and J.P. Walsh

25. Chronohorizons: indirect and unique event dating methods for sea-level reconstructions 373
Wil Marshall

26. Uranium-thorium dating 386
Andrea Dutton

27. The application of luminescence dating in sea-level studies 404
Mark D. Bateman

PART 4: Modeling

28. Glacial isostatic adjustment 421
Glenn A. Milne

29. Tidal modeling 438
Stephen D. Griffiths and David F. Hill

30. Compaction 452
Matthew J. Brain

31. Transfer functions 470
Andrew C. Kemp and Richard J. Telford

32. Using chronological models in late Holocene sea-level reconstructions from saltmarsh sediments 500
Andrew C. Parnell and W. Roland Gehrels

33. Paleogeography 514
Geert-Jan Vis, Kim M. Cohen, Wim E. Westerhoff, Johan H. Ten Veen, Marc P. Hijma, Ad J.F. van der Spek, and Peter C. Vos

34. A protocol for a geological sea-level database 536
Marc P. Hijma, Simon E. Engelhart, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Benjamin P. Horton, Ping Hu, and David F. Hill

PART 5: Direct measurements

35. Sea-level measurements from tide gauges 557
Philip L. Woodworth, David T. Pugh, and Andrew J. Plater

Index 575

Authors

Ian Shennan University of Durham. Antony J. Long University of Durham. Benjamin P. Horton Rutgers University.

Table of Contents

Authors

Related Topics

Related Products

Coastal Environments and Global Change. Edition No. 1. Wiley Works

Coastal Zone Management. Global Perspectives, Regional Processes, Local Issues

Large Igneous Provinces. A Driver of Global Environmental and Biotic Changes. Edition No. 1. Geophysical Monograph Series

World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation. Volume I: Europe, The Americas and West Africa. Edition No. 2

The Teardrop Theory: Earth and Its Interiors...Continents on the Move