The full programme book (PDF) - Royal Geographical Society
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T6<br />
Late Holocene sea-level change and saline intrusion, Humber Estuary<br />
L.A. Best 1 *, K.A. Selby 1 , M. Morton 2<br />
1 Environment Department, University of York<br />
2 Yorkshire Water, Bradford<br />
Changing sea-levels are a key concern around the globe due to both the direct and<br />
indirect effects on coastal regions and resources. For the Yorkshire region this has<br />
resulted in particular concerns over the preservation of potable and plentiful water<br />
supplies. Groundwater is abstracted as a source of potable water from the chalk aquifer in<br />
close proximity to the Humber Estuary. <strong>The</strong>re is a complex relationship within, and<br />
between, groundwater and estuarine coastal processes, and the risk of possible intrusions<br />
of saline water into the groundwater source needs to be investigated. This requires a<br />
consideration of both the sea-level history of the estuary, as well as the groundwater<br />
characteristics of the surrounding region.<br />
Existing sea-level data points for the estuary provide a record of change during the<br />
Holocene, however there is a scarcity of data for the most recent ~2000 years (Long et al.,<br />
1998; Metcalfe et al., 2000). This project aims to establish a high resolution sea-level<br />
record for this late Holocene period in the Humber Estuary through litho- and biostratigraphical<br />
analyses of multiple locations around the estuary. Microfossils, primarily<br />
diatoms, will be used as the proxy data to reconstruct former relative sea-levels. This will<br />
assist in furthering understanding of the Holocene evolution of the estuary, the<br />
implications of saline intrusion into the chalk aquifer, and the consequences of possible<br />
future changes. <strong>The</strong> data can be used in conjunction with groundwater models to inform<br />
the decisions, policies and management strategies of the local water authority to<br />
safeguard future water supplies for the region.<br />
Keywords: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction; sea-level; microfossils; diatoms;<br />
groundwater.<br />
Long, A.J., Innes, J.B., Kirby, J.R., Lloyd, J.M., Rutherford, M.M., Shennan, I. & Tooley, M.J. (1998)<br />
Holocene sea-level change and coastal evolution in the Humber Estuary, eastern England: an<br />
assessment of rapid coastal change, <strong>The</strong> Holocene, 8, 2, 229-247.<br />
Metcalfe, S.E., Ellis, S., Horton, B.P., Innes, J.B., McArthur, J., Mitlehner, A., Parkes, A., Pethick, J.S.,<br />
Rees, J., Ridgway, J., Rutherford, M.M., Shennan, I. & Tooley, M.J. (2000) <strong>The</strong> Holocene evolution of<br />
the Humber Estuary: reconstructing change in a dynamic environment, in Shennan, I. & Andrews, J.<br />
(Eds.) Holocene Land-Ocean Interaction and Environmental Change around the North Sea, Geological<br />
<strong>Society</strong>, London, Special Publications, 166, 97-118.