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Holocene submergence of southern Long Island, New YorkSamples of basal peat from south-central Long Island have been dated by the radiocarbon method, and a local curve of submergence has been obtained for the past 8,000 yr. The submergence curve indicates that from 7,000 and 3,000 yr BP the Long Island coast was being submerged at a rate of about 25 cm per 100 yr, a rate which slowed markedly to about 10 cm per 100 yr during the past 3,000 yr. Sea-level data for before 7,000 yr show considerable scatter. Samples from the fringing and mid-bay marsh areas of the Great South Bay taken at depths of -1.1 and -0.3 m MSL gave radiocarbon ages of about 1,015 and 300 yr, respectively. The inception of these marshes is estimated to have occurred at about 2,000 yr BP. It seems likely that the change from open lagoon to saltmarsh was initiated in the Great South Bay by a decrease in the rate of submergence at about 3,000 yr BP, which allowed sedimentation to build the floor of the lagoon to a level suitable for colonization by marsh grasses.
Document ID
19790059633
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Rampino, M. R.
(NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Columbia University New York, N.Y., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
July 12, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: Nature
Volume: 280
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
79A43646
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-5163
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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