On rocky coastlines, abrasion, dissolution and biological activity can create an erosion notch where the ocean meets land. Given that sea level has generally risen since the end of the last glacial period 20,000 years ago, Cooper et al.
hypothesize that notches stay at the coastline if sea level rise is matched by tectonic uplift. However, if sea level rise is outpaced by tectonic uplift, notches will be stranded above the coastline. Noting that stranded notches can reveal uplift rates in seismic areas, the authors study four known paleoshorelines along a stretch of coastline in Greece. Prior work indicates that marine fauna found in these four notches are 650, 1900, 3700 and 6500 years old, respectively, correlating to known periods of sea level stability. The new study’s authors use the notches' elevations to calculate uplift rates. These values correspond well with known uplift rates during the last ice age, suggesting that notch sequences could be used in some locations to characterize long-term patterns of uplift, slip-rate, and seismic hazards on active faults.-American Geophysical Union
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