Relative sea level and abrupt mass unloading in Barbados during the Holocene

Relative sea level records climatic change as well as vertical land movement. In Barbados, uplift variation is necessary to interpret one of the most complete coral reef records. Here we show that an abrupt mass unloading of 30 +/- 10 km(3) caused an uplift variation of ~0.45 +/- 0.15 mm/yr using a modelling approach. Simulations have been conducted for different volumes and elastic thicknesses. Isostatic adjustment in relation with an abrupt mass unloading explains the observed uplift rate increased from 0.34 mm/yr to 0.8 mm/yr that occurred 11.2 kyr ago. The reconstructed sea-level curve highlights a sea-level jump of 4.8 m, with a delay of 150 yr from the termination of Younger Dryas cold event and 300 yr before the abrupt mass unloading. This sea-level jump corresponds to meltwater pulse MWP-1B and is not an artefact. A stagnation of 500 yr occurred from 12 to 11.5 kyr BP. Relative sea level records are useful to detect past landslides and erosion. Accurate analysis and reconstruction of sea-level permits to determine sea-level abrupt rise caused by climate warming during the last thousand years.

Automated summary

This study investigates uplift variation and sea-level changes in Barbados, and shows that abrupt mass unloading caused a change in uplift rate. The reconstructed sea-level curve reveals jumps and stagnation periods. The findings are of significance for understanding past climate changes and sea-level variations.