Handbook of Sea-Level Research

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.
Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com\go\shennan\sealevel

Auteur

Professor Ian Shennan, also from the Department of Geography of Durham University, UK undertakes research on sea-level change, earthquakes and tsunami and the development of relevant scientific approaches and techniques.

Professor Antony J Long, from the Department of Geography of Durham University, UK is a sea-level scientist with a particular interest in reconstructing past sea-level change from polar regions.

Dr Ben Horton is a Professor at the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences of Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. He aims to understand and integrate the external and internal mechanisms that have determined sea-level changes in the past, and which will shape such changes in the future.

All three have conducted field-based research in diverse environments, from the tropics to high latitudes, much with the backing of the major research agencies in the UK, Europe and the USA as well as commercial and government stakeholders.

Contenu

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