Sr-Isotope Record of Quaternary Marine Terraces on the California Coast and off Hawaii

Authors

Kenneth R. Ludwig, U.S. Geological Survey
Daniel R. Muhs, U.S. Geological SurveyFollow
Kathleen R. Simmons, U.S. Geological SurveyFollow
James G. Moore, U.S. Geological Survey

Date of this Version

1992

Citation

QUATERNARY RESEARCH 31, 267-280 (1992)

Comments

U.S. government work

Abstract

Strontium-isotopic ratios of dated corals have been obtained from submerged reefs formed during Quaternary glacial periods off the Hawaiian islands. These data, combined with data from deep-sea sediments, tightly constrain the secular variation of marine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr for the past 800,000 yr. Although long-term trends are apparent, no significant (>0.02‰), rapid (<100,000 yr) excursions in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr were resolved nor did we observe any samples with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr greater than that of modern seawater. Strontium in mollusks from elevated marine terraces formed during interglacial periods on the southern California coast show resolvable and consistent variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr which, when compared to the trend of Quaternary marine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, can be used to infer uplift rates and define approximate ages for the higher terraces. The Sr-isotope age estimates indicate that uplift rates vary among crustal blocks and were not necessarily constant with time. No contrast in Sr-isotopic ratios between similar-age Hawaiian and California fossils was observed, confirming that any change in marine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from glacial to interglacial periods must be small. A realistic appraisal of the potential of Sr-isotope stratigraphy for chronometric applications in