A FIRST TENTATIVE HOLOCENE SEA-LEVEL CURVE FOR SINGAPORE

A Holocene sea level curve for Singapore is presented. Radiocarbon dat ing of a variety of shell, wood, peat and coral material is utilised t o derive the curve. Most of the dated material comes from a low energy , ''quietwater'' estuarine environment at Sungei Nipah, and the remain der from the tops of relict Porites coral bommies at Pulau Semakau. De termination of the curve takes into consideration the environmental fa ctors and conditions that determined the elevation range of the materi al dated. The tentative results indicate that the Holocene Post-Glacia l Marine Transgression reached present mean sea level around 6,500 to 7,000 years BP, rose to nearly 3m above present, and began to fall to present MSL around 3000 or less years ago. A comparison of the propose d sea-level curve with the curve for Peninsular Malaysia indicates tha t the highest mid-Holocene sea level may have been closer to +3m rathe r than +5m.