Holocene Sea Level History of Northeastern Spencer Gulf

14C dating of mollusc shells and sea-grass root fibers establishes a Holocene sea-level history spanning the last 6000 years. The dataset contains precise elevation measurements for beach ridges and subtidal sea-grass deposits, ranging from +1.1 m to +1.8 m A.H.D. for ridges and below -2 m A.H.D. for sea-grass. It was produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling Holocene sea-level fall from +3-4 m to present levels using 14C-dated beach ridge and sea-grass facies.
• Analyzing the relationship between tidal range and the elevation of intertidal environments across surveyed transects.
• Investigating tectonic uplift as a driver of relative sea-level change by correlating elevation data with regional seismicity.
• Reconstructing coastal progradation rates from 4000 years B.P. to present using dated regressive carbonate shorelines.

Strengths

• Provides a detailed sea-level history constructed from events spanning 6000 years.
• Includes precise elevation measurements for key sea-level indicators like beach ridges and Posidonia sea-grass deposits.
• Uses 14C dating on unaltered mollusc shells and organic material for chronological control.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column count, and sample size are unknown.
• Data is presented in PDF/HTML formats, not a structured tabular dataset, limiting machine-readability.
• Geographic coverage is limited to northeastern Spencer Gulf, South Australia.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field measurements of intertidal environments and 14C dating of mollusc shells and sea-grass root fibers.

Time Range

Holocene, specifically 6000 years B.P. to present.

Freshness

null

Geography

Northeastern Spencer Gulf, South Australia.