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Climate
A 20th century acceleration of sea-level rise in New Zealand
Article first published online: 30 JAN 2008
DOI: 10.1029/2007GL032632
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
Additional Information
How to Cite
, , , and (2008), A 20th century acceleration of sea-level rise in New Zealand, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L02717, doi:10.1029/2007GL032632.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 30 JAN 2008
- Article first published online: 30 JAN 2008
- Manuscript Accepted: 18 DEC 2007
- Manuscript Revised: 13 DEC 2007
- Manuscript Received: 10 NOV 2007
Keywords:
- sea-level rise;
- salt marsh;
- Holocene
[1] Sea levels in New Zealand have remained relatively stable throughout the past 7000 years, but salt-marsh cores from southern New Zealand show evidence of a recent rapid rise. To date and quantify this rise we present a proxy sea-level record spanning the past 500 years for Pounawea, southeastern New Zealand, based on foraminiferal analyses. Ages for ten sea-level index points are established from AMS14C, Pb concentrations, stable Pb isotopes, pollen markers, charcoal concentrations and 137Cs. Sea level was rising slowly (0.3 ± 0.3 mm yr−1) from AD 1500 to AD 1900, but during the 20th century the rate increased to 2.8 ± 0.5 mm yr−1, in agreement with instrumental measurements commencing in 1924. This is the first sea-level record from the southern hemisphere showing a significantly higher rate of sea-level rise during the 20th century as compared with preceding centuries.