Holocene sea-level change in the Bilbao estuary (north Spain): foraminiferal evidence

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Holocene sedimentary sequences of 4 bo reholes from the Bilbao estuary (Bay of Biscay, northern Spain) have been a nalyzed. Estuarine indigenous and open-sea exotic foraminifera have been di stinguished in order to interpret the environments of deposition (inter/sup ratidal sand dune and beach, low marsh, brackish intertidal, near-marine in tertidal and fresh water) with varying amounts of open-sea influence. Two d istinct upward-shallowing sequences, with a variable succession of environm ents depending on the distance to the estuary entrance, have been identifie d (similar to 8000 BP and similar to 3000 BP by comparison with other coast al deposits) and interpreted as showing episodic increase of sea level.