Geomorphology and Sedimentary Record of Three Cuspate Forelands as Indicators of Late Holocene Relative Sea-level Changes, Disko, West Greenland

Abstract

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 97: 33–46, 1997.

The coastal geomorphology of three cuspate forelands at Saqqarliit Ilorliit, western Disko, West Greenland is described, sediment core data from salt marshes and lagoons are presented, an emergence curve is constructed, and data are discussed in relation to late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) changes. On western Disko, falling RSL in early-middle Holocene was followed by rising RSL in late Holocene. Emergence continued until c. 2.5 ka BP. The coastal geomorphology at Saqqarliit Ilorliit suggest transgression early in the interval 2.5—1.0 ka BP and between 0.7 ka BP and the present. The first transgression resulted in formation of an intertidal platform and coastal cliffs. Washover ridges and lagoons developed during the transgression after 0.7 ka BP. Based on the core data it is suggested that the transgression after 0.7 ka BP might have consisted of three transgression phases separated by periods with stable or slightly regressive conditions.

Keywords:

• West Greenland
• relative sea-level
• late Holocene
• coastal geomorphology
• lagoon sediments
• cuspate forelands