Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T12:17:34.234Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late-Glacial and Early Holocene Sea-Level Fluctuations in the Central Puget Lowland, Washington, Inferred from Lake Sediments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Karl Anundsen ,
Sally Abella ,
Estella Leopold ,
Minze Stuiver  and
Sheila Turner
Karl Anundsen
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
Sally Abella
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Estella Leopold
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Minze Stuiver
Affiliation:
Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Sheila Turner
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Analyses of sediments, diatoms, and pollen in a 12.65-m-long sediment core taken from Lake Carpenter in the central Puget Lowland, Washington, provide detailed information regarding the history of deglaciation and late-glacial/early Holocene sea-level changes. The lake outlet, now 8.2 m above sea level, has been lowered 1-1.5 m by postglacial erosion. The lithology and pollen record suggest that no lengthy hiatuses in sedimentation have occurred. The basal sediments are glacialmarine and contain shell fragments and brackish/marine diatoms. Freshwater sediments above the basal section are interrupted only by a short section containing few fossils, most of which are brackish to marine indicators, and by the Mazama tephra at 9.5 m. The pollen record in the basal 4 m reveals a Pinus zone (ca. 13,850-11,000 yr B.P.) with a brief peak of Picea at ca. 13,700 yr B.P., and an Alnus/Pseudotsuga zone (ca. 11,000-6500 yr B.P.). The chronology is based on nine radiocarbon ages. A relative lowering of sea level below the 9.5-m threshold is recorded in the core at 12.41 m and dates 13,850 to 13,700 yr B.P. A marine episode occurred about 13,600 yr B.P., implying that relative sea-level temporarily rose above 9.5 m. No subsequent transgressions above the 9.5-m level have been recorded. Comparison of six radiocarbon dates ≥13,600 yr B.P. suggest that the marine reservoir correction of 760 yr currently used for this area may be too high for this time period.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , September 1994 , pp. 149 - 161
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anundsen, K. (1977). Sediments, pollen and diatoms from two basins in south-western Norway. Reports from the Department of Geology, The University of Trondheim, The Norwegian Institute of Technology 1.Google Scholar
Anundsen, K. (1985). Changes in shore-level and ice-front position in Late Weichsel and Holocene, southern Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 39, 205–225.Google Scholar
Anundsen, K. (in press). A 14,000-year sea-level record from the southwestern Cordilleran ice sheet area. Quaternary Science Reviews. Google Scholar
Anundsen, K., and Fjeldskaar, W. (1983). Observed and theoretical late Weichselian shore-level changes related to glacier oscillations at Yrkje, south-west Norway. In “Lateand Postglacial Oscillations of Glaciers: Glacial and Periglacial Forms” (Schroeder-Lanz, H., ed.), Rotterdam. A.A. Balkema. p. 133–170.Google Scholar
Armstrong, J. E. (1981). Post-Vashon Wisconsin glaciation, Fraser Lowland, British Columbia, Canada. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 322.Google Scholar
Armstrong, J. E. Crandell, D. R. Easterbrook, D. J., and Nobel, J. B. (1965). Late Pleistocene stratigraphy and chronology in southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 76, 321–330.Google Scholar
Atwater, B. F. (1987). Evidence for great Holocene earthquakes along the outer coast of Washington State. Science 236, 942–944.Google Scholar
Atwater, B. F., and Moore, A. L. (1992). A tsunami about 1000 years ago in Puget Sound, Washington. Science 258, 1614–1617.Google Scholar
Barnosky, C. W. (1981). A record of Late Quaternary vegetation from Davis Lake, southern Puget Lowland, Washington. Quaternary Re-search 16, 221–239.Google Scholar
Booth, D. B. (1987). Timing and processes of deglaciation along the southern margin of the Cordilleran ice sheet. In “The Geology of North America, Vol. K-3. North America and adjacent Oceans during the Last Deglaciation” (Ruddiman, W. F. and Wright, H. E. Jr., Eds.), pp. 71–90. Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Clague, J. J. (1983). Glacio-isostatic effects of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, British Columbia, Canada. In “Shorelines and Isostasy” (Smith, D. E. and Dawson, A. G., Eds.), pp. 321–343. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Cookson, I. C. (1953). Records of the occurrence of Botryococcus braunii, Pediastrum, and the Hystrichosphaerideae in Cainozoic deposits of Australia. Memoirs, National Museum, Melbourne 18, 107–123.Google Scholar
Cwynar, L. C. (1987). Fire and the Forest History of the North Cascade Range. Ecology 68, 791–802.Google Scholar
Deeter, J. D. (1979). “Quaternary Geology and Stratigraphy of Kitsap County, Washington. M.S. thesis, Western Washington University.Google Scholar
Digerfeldt, G., and Bjorck, S. (1982). Late Weichselian shore displacement at Hunneberg, southern Sweden, indicating complex uplift. Geologiska Foreningens i Stockholms Fdrhandlingar 104, 132–155.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. J. (1963), Late Pleistocene glacial events and relative sea-level changes in the northern Puget Lowland, Washington. Geological Society of America Bulletin 74, 1465–1484.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. J. (1968). Pleistocene stratigraphy of Island County . Washington Department of Water Resources, Water Supply Bulletin 25, part 1.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. J. (1969). Pleistocene chronology of the Puget Lowland and San Juan Islands, Washington. Geological Society of American Bulletin 80, 2273–2286.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. J. (1986). Stratigraphy and chronology of Quaternary deposits of the Puget Lowland and Olympic Mountains of Washington and the Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon. Quaternary Science Reviews 5, 145–159.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. G. (1992). Advance and retreat of Cordilleran ice sheets in Washington, U.S.A. Geographie physique et Quaternaire 46, 51–68.Google Scholar
Eronen, M. Kankainen, T., and Tsukada, M. (1987). Late-Holocene sea-level record in a core from the Puget Lowland, Washington. Quaternary Research 27, 147–159.Google Scholar
Fzegri, K. (1939). Quartargeologische Untersuchungen im westlichen Norwegen. II. Zur Spatquartaren Geschichte Jjerens. Bergens Museums Arbok, 1939-40, Naturv. Rekke 7.Google Scholar
Faegri, K., and lversen, J. (1975). “Textbook of Pollen Analysis.” Munksgaard, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Gower, H. D. Yount, J. C., and Crosson, R. S. (1985). “Seismotectonic map of the Puget Sound Region, Washington.” U.S. Geological Survey.Google Scholar
Hafsten, U. (1983). Shore-level changes in South Norway during the last 13,000 Years, traced by biostratigraphical methods and radiometric datings. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 37, 63–79.Google Scholar
Hansen, H. P. (1947). Postglacial forest succession, climate, and chronology in the Pacific Northwest. American Philosophical Society 37, 1–130.Google Scholar
Hebda, R. J. (1977). “The Paleoecology of a Raised Bog and Associated Deltaic Sediments of the Fraser River Delta.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Heusser, C. J. (1977). Quaternary Palynology of the Pacific Slope of Washington. Quaternary Research 8, 282–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaland, P. E. (1984). Holocene shore displacement and shore lines in Hordaland, western Norway. Boreas 13, 203–242.Google Scholar
Karlin, R. E., and Abella, S. E. B. (1992). Paleoearthquakes in the Puget Sound region recorded in sediments from Lake Washington, U.S.A. Science 258, 1617–1620.Google Scholar
Leopold, E. B. Nickman, R. Hedges, J. I., and Ertel, J. R. (1982). Pollen and lignin records of Late Quaternary vegetation, Lake Washington. Science 218, 1305–1307.Google ScholarPubMed
Lipitz, B. B. (1989). “NEWPOL—A Program for Pollen Data Analysis and Display.” Department of Geography, University of Oregon. Eugene, OR. [Mimeo] Google Scholar
Maher, L. J. Jr., (1981). Statistics for microfossil concentration measurements employing samples spiked with marker grains. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology 32, 153–191.Google Scholar
Mathewes, R. W., and Heusser, L. E. (1981). A 12,000 year palynological record in Southwestern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Botany 59, 707–710.Google Scholar
Mathews, W. H. Fyles, J. G., and Nashmith, H. W. (1970). Postglacial crustal movements in southwestern British Columbia and adjacent Washington State. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7, 690–702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Momer, N.-A. (1969). The Late Weichselian Quaternary history of the Kattegat Sea and the Swedish west coast. Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning Yrsbok 63(3).Google Scholar
Mullineaux, D. R. Waldron, H. H., and Rubin, M. (1965). Stratigraphy and chronology of late interglacial and early Vashon glacial time in the Seattle area, Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 11940.Google Scholar
Patrick, R., and Reimer, C. (1966). The diatoms of the United States. Academy of Natural Sciences and Philosophy, Monograph 13(1).Google Scholar
Petersen, K. I. Mehringer, P. J., and Gustafson, C. E. (1983). Lateglacial vegetation and climate at the Manis mastodon site, Olympic Penninsula, Washington. Quaternary Research 20, 215–231.Google Scholar
Rigg, G. B. (1958). Peat resources of Washington. Washington, Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 44.Google Scholar
Rigg, G. B., and Gould, H. R. (1957). Age of Glacier Peak eruption and chronology of postglacial peat deposits in Washington and surrounding areas. American Journal of Science 255, 341–363.Google Scholar
Shackleton, N. J. Duplessy, J. C. Arnold, M. Maurice, P. Hall, M. A., and Cartlidge, J. (1988). Radiocarbon age of last glacial Pacific deep water. Nature 335, 708–711.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Polach, H. S. (1977). Discussion—Reporting of l4C data. Radiocarbon 19, 355–363.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. Pearson, G. W., and Braziunas, T. (1986). Radiocarbon age calibration of marine samples back to 9000 cal yr B.P. Radiocarbon 28, 980–1021.Google Scholar
Thorson, R. M. (1980). Ice-sheet glaciation of the Puget Lowland, Washington, during the Vashon stade (Late Pleistocene). Quaternary Research 13, 303–321.Google Scholar
Thorson, R. M. (1981). “Isostatic Effects of the Last Glaciation in the Puget Lowland, Washington,” Open-File Report 81-370. U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey.Google Scholar
Tsukada, M. Sugita, S., and Hibbert, D. M. (1981). Paleoecology in the Pacific Northwest. 1. Late Quaternary vegetation and climate. Internal. Verein. Limnol. 21, 730–737.Google Scholar
Turner, S. (1990). “Cladocera of Carpenter Lake: Stable Community in the Face of Quaternary Perturbations.” M.S. thesis, University of Washington.Google Scholar
Waitt, R. B. Jr., and Thorson, R. M. (1983). The Cordilleran ice sheet in Washington, Idaho, and Montana. In “Late Quaternary Environ-ments of the United States, Vol. 1. The Late Pleistocene” (Porter, S. C., Ed.), pp. 53–70. Univ. Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.Google Scholar