Submerged bedrock shore platforms, Orkney Islands, UK: A new record of significant, though chronologically uncertain sea-level change and coastal erosion
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Reconstructions of sea level change in NW Europe are primarily based on records of relative sea level (RSL) recovered from terrestrial environments, above modern sea level. This deficit in marine-based records results from the highly limited number of sea level indicators observed in modern submarine settings, as well as the often-limited absolute chronology information available. This sampling bias introduces significant uncertainty in former RSL predictions, negatively impacting efforts to accurately model ice-sheet histories and isostatic response. Here we present new seabed mapping data (i.e. high-resolution multibeam bathymetry) from northern Scotland to address this data gap. Encircling the Orkney Islands we identify an exceptional sequence of submerged terraces ranging from −5 to −95 m below modern sea level, carved in bedrock. We interpret these bedrock terraces as relict shore platforms, based on their spatial distribution and a range of geomorphological characteristics. Shore platform development was linked to contemporaneous landward coastline erosion and cliff formation, and each landform pair (i.e. terrace = shore platform and accompanying seacliff / escarpment) likely represents a single sea-level stillstand event of considerable duration (possibly millennia). These wide and well-preserved shore platforms attest to formation during multiple, separate periods of RSL stillstand, and we estimate that 5–7 RSL stillstands are recorded offshore Orkney. We discuss their potential age – spanning more than the last glacial cycle (i.e. Middle - Late Pleistocene) – and explore the wider implications for Quaternary coastal erosion and sea-level change in the region. This study shows how marine geological data and geomorphological analysis can be used to identify palaeo-sea-level indicators within a glacio-isostatically complex region. Despite a current lack of absolute chronological constraint, we believe these observations may provide crucial information towards understanding sea level change within the NW European region.
Source: Marine Geology
Authors: Dayton Dove, Tom Bradwell, Natasha L.M. Barlow
Language: English
Topic: Coastal and Marine Dynamics
Subfield: Earth-Surface Processes
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,770
OpenAlex ID: W4410200175