Sea Level Rise: History And Consequences

Sea Level Rise This is Volume 75 in the I N T E R N A T I O N A L G E O P H Y S I C S SERIES A series of monographs and textbooks Edited by R E N A T A D M O W S K A , J A M E S R. H O L T O N , and H. T H O M A S R O S S B Y A complete list of books in this series appears at the end of this volume. Sea Level Rise History and Consequences Bruce C. Douglas*,t Michael S. Kearney* Stephen P. Leathermant *DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND ?INTERNATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY MIAMI, FLORIDA (~ ACADEMIC PRESS A Harcourt Scienceand TechnologyCompany San Diego San Francisco Boston London Sydney New York Tokyo Cover photo credits: Front cover photo © Digital Stock 2000; back cover photo courtesy of Stephen P. Leatherman. This book is printed on acid-free paper. ( ~ Copyright © 2001 by ACADEMIC PRESS All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to: Permissions Department, Harcourt Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777 Academic Press A Harcourt Science and Technology Company 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, California 92101-4495, USA http://www.academicpress.com Academic Press Harcourt Place, 32 Jamestown Road, London NW1 7BY, UK http://www.academicpress.com Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-104280 Intemational Standard Book Number: 0-12-221345-9 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 00 01 02 03 04 05 MM 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sharp's Island, Maryland, ca. 1950. This photo shows what remained of an island that probably was approximately 700 acres in size at the time of original settlement in the late 17th century, and that still covered almost 600 acres in 1850. Until the first decades of the 20th century, Sharp's Island supported several large farms (at least one of 300 acres) and a hotel until 1910. Today, the island has disappeared, with only the historic Sharp's Island Light marking its former position. (Photo used with permission from Douglas Hanks, Jr.) This Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents Contributors Foreword Preface Chapter 1 xi xiii xvii A n I n t r o d u c t i o n to Sea Level Bruce C. Douglas 1.1 The Importance of Sea Level Rise 1.2 Sea Level and Geoid 1.3 Characteristics of Sea Level Records References Chapter 2 1 3 7 10 L a t e H o l o c e n e Sea Level Variations Michael S. Kearney 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Evidence for Past Sea Levels: The Data and the Conclusions Drawn 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 2.2.5 Geomorphic Features Transgressive Sequences Biological Indicators of Sea Level Change Archaeological Data Intertidal Deposits: Coastal Marshes 2.3 The Historical Record as Evidence for Sea Level Variation 2.4 The Late Holocene Sea Level Record 13 14 14 15 17 20 22 25 26 2.4.1 Smooth (Nonoscillating) Sea Level Curves or "Shepherd Curves" 2.4.2 Oscillating Sea Level Curves: The South Carolina Coast 27 29 2.5 The Question of Higher Sea Levels Than Present during the Late Holocene 2.6 Conclusions References 30 vii 32 33 viii Contents Chapter 3 Sea Level Change in the Era of the Recording Tide Gauge Bruce C. Douglas 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Introduction Tide Gauges and Their Data Interpreting Sea Level Records Tide Gauge Records Suitable for Global Sea Level Anal