R. Beaman et al., NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE HOLOCENE SEA-LEVEL HIGH FROM THE INNER SHELF, CENTRAL GREAT-BARRIER-REEF, AUSTRALIA, Journal of sedimentary research. Section A, Sedimentary petrology and processes, 64(4), 1994, pp. 881-885
Radiocarbon dates from fossil oyster beds of intertidal origin on Magn
etic Island, north Queensland indicate that the local Holocene maximum
of relative sea level was attained no later than 5660 +/- 50 B.P. (co
nventional uncorrected age) and remained at 1.6-1.7 m above modern lev
els until 4040 +/- 50 B.P. Given the tectonic stability of the area, t
his implies that eustatic sea level remained at its Holocene peak for
at least ca. 1600 yr. The new high-precision sea-level data indicate s
ea levels 1-5 m higher than those of the same age inferred from buried
mangrove deposits on the inner shelf in north Queensland. Uncertainti
es in deriving relative sea level from such mangrove deposits may be a
significant source of error in worldwide attempts to distinguish the
eustatic and crustal warping components of relative sea-level change,
especially in the tropics.