A new Holocene sea-level record for Singapore

Stephen Chua; Adam D Switzer; Tanghua Li; Huixian Chen; Margaret Christie; Timothy A Shaw; Nicole S Khan; Michael I Bird; Benjamin P Horton

doi:10.1177/09596836211019096

A new Holocene sea-level record for Singapore

Stephen Chua^*
, Adam D Switzer
, Tanghua Li
, Huixian Chen
, Margaret Christie
, Timothy A Shaw
, Nicole S Khan
, Michael I Bird
, Benjamin P Horton

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

52 Citations (Scopus)

5 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new ~40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early Holocene, RSL rose rapidly from −21.0 to −0.7 m from ~9500 to 7000 cal. yrs. BP. Thereafter, the rate of RSL rise decelerated, reaching a mid-Holocene highstand of 4.0 ± 4.5 m at 5100 cal. yrs. BP, before falling to its present level. There is no evidence of any inflections in RSL when the full uncertainty of SLIPs is considered. When combined with other standardized data from the Malay-Thai Peninsula, our results also show substantial misfits between regional RSL reconstructions and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model predictions in the rate of early Holocene RSL rise, the timing of the mid-Holocene highstand and the nature of late-Holocene RSL fall towards the present. It is presently unknown whether these misfits are caused by regional processes, such as subsidence of the continental shelf, or inaccurate parameters used in the GIA model. © The Author(s) 2021.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1376-1390
Journal	Holocene
Volume	31
Issue number	9
Online published	4 Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836211019096
Publication status	Published - Sept 2021
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) grants M4430132.B50-2014 (Singapore Quaternary Geology), M4430139.B50-2015 (Singapore Holocene Sea Level), M4430188.B50-2016 (Singapore Drilling Project), M4430245.B50-2017 and M4430245.B50-2018 (Kallang Basin Project). SC, ADS, TL, HC, TAS and BPH are supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund MOE2019-T3-1-004 and MOE2018-T2-1-030, the National Research Foundation Singapore, the Singapore Ministry of Education under the Research Centers of Excellence initiative, and by the Nanyang Technological University. This research is also supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore and the Ministry of National Development, Singapore under the Urban Solutions & Sustainability – Integration Fund (USS-IF Award No. USS-IF-2020-1). It is part of the National Sea Level Programme under the National Environment Agency. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the National Research Foundation, Singapore, the Ministry of National Development, Singapore and National Environment Agency, Singapore. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in NTU research data repository DR-NTU (Data) at https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/SV85OM

Research Keywords

basal peat
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA)
Holocene
sea level
sediment compaction
Sunda Shelf

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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abstract = "Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new \textasciitilde{}40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early Holocene, RSL rose rapidly from −21.0 to −0.7 m from \textasciitilde{}9500 to 7000 cal. yrs. BP. Thereafter, the rate of RSL rise decelerated, reaching a mid-Holocene highstand of 4.0 ± 4.5 m at 5100 cal. yrs. BP, before falling to its present level. There is no evidence of any inflections in RSL when the full uncertainty of SLIPs is considered. When combined with other standardized data from the Malay-Thai Peninsula, our results also show substantial misfits between regional RSL reconstructions and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model predictions in the rate of early Holocene RSL rise, the timing of the mid-Holocene highstand and the nature of late-Holocene RSL fall towards the present. It is presently unknown whether these misfits are caused by regional processes, such as subsidence of the continental shelf, or inaccurate parameters used in the GIA model. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2021.",

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AU - Chua, Stephen

AU - Switzer, Adam D

AU - Li, Tanghua

AU - Chen, Huixian

AU - Christie, Margaret

AU - Shaw, Timothy A

AU - Khan, Nicole S

AU - Bird, Michael I

AU - Horton, Benjamin P

PY - 2021/9

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N2 - Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new ~40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early Holocene, RSL rose rapidly from −21.0 to −0.7 m from ~9500 to 7000 cal. yrs. BP. Thereafter, the rate of RSL rise decelerated, reaching a mid-Holocene highstand of 4.0 ± 4.5 m at 5100 cal. yrs. BP, before falling to its present level. There is no evidence of any inflections in RSL when the full uncertainty of SLIPs is considered. When combined with other standardized data from the Malay-Thai Peninsula, our results also show substantial misfits between regional RSL reconstructions and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model predictions in the rate of early Holocene RSL rise, the timing of the mid-Holocene highstand and the nature of late-Holocene RSL fall towards the present. It is presently unknown whether these misfits are caused by regional processes, such as subsidence of the continental shelf, or inaccurate parameters used in the GIA model. © The Author(s) 2021.

AB - Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new ~40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early Holocene, RSL rose rapidly from −21.0 to −0.7 m from ~9500 to 7000 cal. yrs. BP. Thereafter, the rate of RSL rise decelerated, reaching a mid-Holocene highstand of 4.0 ± 4.5 m at 5100 cal. yrs. BP, before falling to its present level. There is no evidence of any inflections in RSL when the full uncertainty of SLIPs is considered. When combined with other standardized data from the Malay-Thai Peninsula, our results also show substantial misfits between regional RSL reconstructions and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model predictions in the rate of early Holocene RSL rise, the timing of the mid-Holocene highstand and the nature of late-Holocene RSL fall towards the present. It is presently unknown whether these misfits are caused by regional processes, such as subsidence of the continental shelf, or inaccurate parameters used in the GIA model. © The Author(s) 2021.

KW - basal peat

KW - Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA)

KW - Holocene

KW - sea level

KW - sediment compaction

KW - Sunda Shelf

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ER -

A new Holocene sea-level record for Singapore

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

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