Figure 1. Location of Bracky Bridge, County Donegal, northwest Ireland. (a) Locations of published modern diatom samples used to develop a regional training set; (b) Location of Donegal town, tide gauges (squares, italics), and sites with published sea-level data (dots); (c) Loughros Beg estuary; (d) the salt marsh at Bracky Bridge with surface sample transects A-A’, B-B’ and C-C’ and the coring transect (white dots) marked.

Holocene relative sea-level changes in northwest Ireland: An empirical test for glacial isostatic adjustment models

Wednesday, 3 May, 2023

Authors: Kirby JR, Garrett E and Gehrels WR

Members of the PALSEA working group have published an article in The Holocene on "Holocene relative sea-level changes in northwest Ireland: An empirical test for glacial isostatic adjustment models".

The paper takes a look at the complex history of the late-Quatenary relative sea-level (RSL) of Ireland, with specific focus on the lack of high-quality RSL data in the prediction of mid to Late-Holocene RSL highstand.

The study investigated "model-data discrepancy by reconstructing RSL change from a near continuous salt-marsh sequence at Bracky Bridge, Donegal, spanning the last ca. 2500 years."

The authors' findings are not compatible with previously published sea-level index points from the same region and propose that "These results do not provide any evidence to support a Mid-Holocene RSL highstand above present sea level. Whilst none of the available GIA models replicate the timing and magnitude of the Late-Holocene RSL rise in our reconstruction, those which incorporate a thick and extensive British-Irish Sea Ice Sheet provide the best fit."

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