Collaborative Research: Sea-Level Changes along the Atlantic Coast of the United States: Implications for Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Models and Current Rates of Sea-Level Change

该项目将建立美国大西洋沿岸的相对海平面(RSL)数据库，并将其与加拿大大西洋、美国墨西哥湾沿岸和加勒比地区自上次冰盛期(LGM)以来的数据结合起来。这些数据将用于验证和改进冰川均衡调整(GIA)模型。迫切需要重新评估美国大西洋沿岸前海平面观测证据的质量，以及数据解释中固有的概念。此外，很少考虑其他因素，如沉积物压实和潮差变化。RSL历史中的这些缺陷代表着我们对过去100万年来海平面及其驱动机制和空间变量表达的理解存在重大差距。它们也是对GIA过程的动力学模型的一个极其重要的限制，这些模型目前被用来评估验潮仪和卫星记录的海平面变化，以隔离气候变暖的影响。更广泛的影响：拟议的研究将在PIs和学生之间提供独特的指导机会，因为该项目结合了广泛的学科(例如地貌学、地层学、地球物理学、数学和物理海洋学)。本科生和毕业生将通过宾夕法尼亚州立大学、杜兰大学和宾夕法尼亚大学的跨学科学位课程完整地参与研究和开展项目，并可以进入多伦多大学和美国地质调查局伍兹霍尔科学中心的地球动力学理论小组。他们获得的经验和培训将为计划在环境公司或政府机构开始职业生涯的学生提供新的视角，同时指导那些正在攻读更高学位的人。WWW资源将为学术、政府和工业科学家、教育工作者、学生、政策制定者和更大的用户社区提供对海平面数据库、GIA模型、工具、服务、出版物和报告的开放访问。海平面观测和全球灾害评估模型将对国家危害评估作出重要和独特的贡献。

This project will establish a relative sea-level (RSL) database from the Atlantic Coast of the United States and combine it with data from Atlantic Canada, the United States Gulf Coast and the Caribbean since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). These data will be used to validate and refine Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models. There is an urgent need for a re-assessment of the quality of the observational evidence of former sea levels from the Atlantic Coast of the United States, as well as concepts inherent in the interpretation of the data. Furthermore, other factors such as sediment compaction and tidal range variations have rarely been taken into account. Such deficiencies in RSL histories represent a significant gap in our understanding of sea level over the past million years, its driving mechanisms and spatially variable expression. They also constitute an extremely important limitation to the dynamical models of the GIA process that are currently employed to evaluate tide-gauge and satellite records of sea-level change so as to isolate the contribution due to climate warming. Broader Impacts: The proposed research will provide unique mentoring opportunities between the PIs and students because the project integrates a wide range of disciplines (e.g. geomorphology, stratigraphy, geophysics, mathematics and physical oceanography). Undergraduates and graduates will be integrally involved in the research and conduct projects through the interdisciplinary degree programs of Pennsylvania State University, Tulane University and University of Pennsylvania, and have access to the theoretical geodynamics group at the University of Toronto and the United States Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center. The experience and training they receive will provide fresh perspectives to students planning to embark on careers with environmental firms or government agencies, while mentoring those going on for advanced degrees. A WWW resource will deliver open access to the sea-level database, GIA models, tools, services, publications and reports for academic, government and industrial scientists, educators, students, policy makers and the larger user community. The sea-level observations and the GIA model will form an important and unique contribution to the assessment of national hazards.