Positive deviations from linear sea-level trends represent important climate signals if they are persistent and geographically widespread. This paper documents rapid sea-level rise reconstructed from sedimentary records obtained from salt marshes in the Southwest Pacific region (Tasmania and New Zealand). A new late Holocene relative sea-level record from eastern Tasmania was dated by AMS¹⁴C (conventional, high precision and bomb-spike), ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, stable Pb isotopic ratios, trace metals, pollen and charcoal analyses. Palaeosea-level positions were determined by foraminiferal analyses. Relative sea level in Tasmania was within half a metre of present sea level for much of the last 6000 yr. Between 1900 and 1950 relative sea level rose at an average rate of 4.2 ± 0.1 mm/yr. During the latter half of the 20th century the reconstructed rate of relative sea-level rise was 0.7 ± 0.6 mm/yr. Our study is consistent with a similar pattern of relative sea-level change recently reconstructed for southern New Zealand. The change in the rate of sea-level rise in the SW Pacific during the early 20th century was larger than in the North Atlantic and could suggest that northern hemisphere land-based ice was the most significant melt source for global sea-level rise.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	salt marsh, proxy data, foraminifera, Holocene, Anthropocene, Southwest Pacific
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Oceanography
Research Field:	Physical Oceanography
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Climate and Climate Change
Objective Field:	Climate Change Adaptation Measures
Author:	Hunter, J (Dr John Hunter)
ID Code:	79896
Year Published:	2012
Web of Science® Times Cited:	29
Deposited By:	CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems
Deposited On:	2012-10-10
Last Modified:	2013-04-26
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