CONTENTS
Executive Committee
1. Summary of major past achievements of the Project
2. Achievements of Project 437 in 1999
3. Proposed activities of the project for the year ahead
4. Project funding requested
5. Request for extension
6. Selected publications (1999) 

_____________________________________________________________________

Executive Committee

Project Leader: Colin V. MURRAY-WALLACE
School of Geosciences
University of Wollongong
New South Wales, 2522
AUSTRALIA
Tel: 61-2-4221 4419
Fax: 61-2-4221 4250
Email: colin_murray-wallace@uow.edu.au

Signature of Leader(s): ______________________
   

1. Summary of major past achievements of the Project

Project 437 Coastal Environmental Change During Sea-Level Highstands: A Global Synthesis With Implications For Management of Future Coastal Change was officially approved by the IGCP Scientific Board of UNESCO in February 1999. Accordingly, the achievements for this project thus far and presented in Section 2 of this report.

The principal objective of Project 437 is to examine the evolution of coastlines during sea-level highstands and to comapare and contrast the products and nature of different Quaternary highstands. In particular, the objectives include:

(1) To compare and contrast the evolution of coasts during the present Holocene sea-level highstand with earlier highstands (e.g. particularly the last interglacial maximum; Oxygen Isotope Substage 5e), and to explain the geological and geophysical basis for any morphostratigraphic similarities or differences in these records. The results from these studies will provide the necessary data and scientific interpretations permitting the subsequent management of present and future coastal change;

(2) To document through geological mapping and detailed stratigraphic analysis, the global distribution of highstand shoreline successions from the Holocene and last interglacial, and where possible, earlier highstands, with the aim of elucidating the geological and geophysical basis for similarities and differences;

(3) To quantify the magnitude of sea-level variation evident during highstands and document their basis (e.g. the contributions of glacio-hydro-isostatic processes, climate change, as well as relative sea-level changes associated with neotectonism);

(4) To develop new, and refine existing technologies for the assessment of age of coastal sedimentary successions and landforms through the critical application of a range of Quaternary dating methods;

(5) To evaluate the impact of human-induced environmental changes in coastal environments in the context of natural environmental changes.

  

2. Achievements of Project 437 in 1999

2.1 General scientific achievements

The inaugural meeting of Project 437 was held at the University of Hawaii on the 9th to 12th November 1999. In addition a pre-conference field trip on the 8th November examined aspects of the Late Quaternary history of the island of Molokai. The field trip, led by Charles H. Fletcher III, Paul Hearty and Colin V. Murray-Wallace examined a section of aeolianites at Kaiehu Point which have been dated by amino acid racemisation to late Stage 5 (a-c?; 82-105 ka). The field trip also briefly examined the coastal cliffs near Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north coast of Molokai which stand up to 1000 m above present sea level (APSL). This was followed by an examination of carbonate breccias up to 40 m APSL attributed to the action of tsunami.

The technical meeting provided a very positive start to Project 437. Approximately 100 delegates from 23 countries participated in the meeting. Countries represented included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, The Netherlands, United kingdom and the United States of America.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the excellent series of keynote presentations. These included Richard Peltier (Global Glacial Isostasy and Coastal Evolution), Colin Woodroffe (Morphodynamic response of shorelines to interglacials), Kelvin Berryman (The many faces of tectonics and its role in shaping Late Quaternary shorelines), Richard Fairbanks (Quaternary sea-level cycles amplified by tropical sea-surface temperature changes), Paul Hearty (Warm interglaciations, abrupt environmental change and the "Antarctic Wild Card") and Larry Edwards (Sea-level and deep ocean temperature history over the last 200,000 years). These were all excellent presentations and provided the latest research findings by the key researchers. Some of the conclusions of these presentations were controversial or revealing. For example, Richard Fairbanks concluded that fewer than 10% of corals with numeric ages greater than 30 ka, and that have been subjected to freshwater interaction during diagenesis, have actually behaved as closed systems. He concluded that all of the debates concerning the timing of sea-level highstands in relation to the Milankovitch hypothesis were based on "great measurements on bad samples". Paul Hearty presented morphostratigraphic and geochronological evidence for a 20 m sea level stand during Oxygen Isotope Stage 11 from the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Apart from the extended keynote presentations, the other talks were presented as combined poster and oral presentations. This format worked very well and provided considerably more opportunity to scrutinize research results.

Another very important aspect of the inaugural meeting was the large number of scientific presentations about coastal problems and environmental management of coastal zones. These presentations clearly illustrated the relevance of Project 437 for human societies.

An importance innovation this year was the inclusion of abstracts for the inaugural meeting on the World Wide Web. This provided an invaluable opportunity for scientists to quickly gain a better understanding of the scope of IGCP Project 437, and to cast their poster and paper presentations in the context of the Project’s research objectives. The entire set of abstracts including diagrams may be viewed on the World Wide Web: <<http://imina.soest.hawaii.edu/Coastal_Conf>>.

An earlier activity (May 1999) associated with IGCP Project 437 was an excursion in Sweden organized by Nils-Axel Mörner, which examined aspects of Quaternary sea-level change, neotectonics and palaeoseismicity. This trip was well attended and provided an excellent first hand opportunity to visit some classic Quaternary geological sections.

2.2 List of meetings with approximate attendance and number of countries

University of Hawaii, 9-12 November 1999; Inaugural meeting of IGCP Project 437

Conference Title: The Non-steady State of the Inner Shelf and Shoreline: Coastal Change on the Time Scale of Decades to Millennia in the Late Quaternary.

Approximately 100 delegates attended this meeting from 23 countries. Countries represented included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, The Netherlands, United kingdom and the United States of America.

Sweden Excursion May 1999; Sea-level changes, uplift, palaeoseismicity, climate, coastal dynamics. Guidebook, Paleogeophysics and Geodynamics Unit, Stockholm University, 81 pp. Attended by 30 people from 13 countries.

December 1999 Yoshiki SAITO, Marine Sedimentology Section, Marine Geology Department, Geological Survey of Japan, plans to hold a meeting about aspects of deltaic sedimentation.

Appended is a list of publications in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, the following publication activities are planned for 2000. It should be noted that given Project 437 was only approved in November 1999, there has been little lead in time for the preparation of a large number of publications.

C.V. Murray-Wallace & C.H. Fletcher (eds). Special issue of the journal Sedimentary Geology arising from the inaugural meeting of IGCP Project 437 held in Hawaii in November 1999.

I. Shennan & O. van de Plassche (eds). Manual of techniques for palaeosea level analysis. Monograph in preparation.

   

2.4 List of countries involved in the project (*indicates countries active in 1999)

Argentina*, Australia*, Austria, Benin, Belgium*, Brazil*, Canada*, Chile, China*, Denmark*, Egypt, Estonia* Fiji* Finland, France*, Germany*, Greece, India*, Italy*, Jamaica, Japan* The Netherlands*, New Zealand*, Norway, Poland* Portugal*, Russia*, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain*, Sri Lanke, Sweden*, Tanzania, Thailand* Turkey, United Kingdom*, United States of America*.

Nils-Axel Mörner, an active participant of Project 437, as with all previous IGCP coastal projects was elected as president for the reorganized INQUA Commission on Sea level changes and coastal evolution. Accordingly, there is a direct opportunity for Project 437 to have a strong linkage with the activities of INQUA. Similarly, a closer linkage with the activities of IGBP PAGES (Past Global Changes) and LOICZ (Land - Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone) is planned for Project 437. For example, a joint PAGES - LOICZ workshop was arranged to accompany the inaugural meeting of IGCP Project 437 in Hawaii. The workshop revealed that there are very clear linkages between these projects and it was agreed, wherever possible, to hold joint meetings in the future. As with the previous IGCP coastal projects (e.g. Project 367), Project 437 will also have strong links with Project 396 (Continental Shelves in the Quaternary).
 

2.6 Participation of scientists from developing countries

Contributions from scientists from developing countries at the inaugural meeting of Project 437 in Hawaii include:

K. BALAKRISHNA, Oceanography and Climate Studies, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, 380-009, INDIA.

Niran CHAIMANEE, Department of Mineral Resources, Rama VI Rd., Bangkok, THAILAND

T.R. MAHALINGAM, Indira Gandi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603-102, INDIA

B.R. MANJUNATHA, Department of Marine Geology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri 574-199, INDIA

Anatoly MOLODKOV, Institute of Geology, Tallinn Technical University, 7 Estonia Blvd, 10413, Tallinn, ESTONIA

Andei O. SELIVANOV, Geography Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899, RUSSIA

R. SHANKAR, Department of Marine Geology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri 574-199, INDIA

Sin SINSAKUL, Department of Mineral Resources, Rama VI Rd., Bangkok, THAILAND

Suwat TIYAPAIRACH, Department of Mineral Resources, Rama VI Rd., Bangkok, THAILAND

Yang WAN-RONG, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Acadmia Sinica, Nanjing 210008 CHINA

Lin XUESHEN, Seismological Bureau of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050021, CHINA

3.1 General goals

(1) To increase the participation of researchers from developing countries through increased publicity;

(2) To establish several working groups that will address specific aspects of the project (e.g. large scale coastal behaviour and morphdynamics; neotectonics; geochronology)

(3) To establish a closer linkage with the IGBP PAGES (Past Global Changes) and LOICZ (Land - Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone). A joint PAGES - LOICZ workshop was arranged to accompany the inaugural meeting of IGCP Project 437 in Hawaii. The workshop revealed that there are very clear linkages between these projects and it was agreed wherever possible to hold joint meetings.

(4) To complete the editorial processes related to publications arising from the inaugural meeting of Project 437 and initiate new publication projects.

3.2 Specific meetings and field trips

The next annual meeting of IGCP Project 437 will be held in Patagonia. The meeting will be organized by Enrique Schnack of the Laboratorio de Oceanografia Costera, Argentina. The meeting entitled Patagonia 2000 International Conference on Coastal Interactions during Sea-Level Highstands in the Late Quaternary, will be held from the 29th October to the 8th November 2000 in Puerto Madryn and will include field trips to Peninsula Valdés, Bahia Bustamante as well as an opportunity to travel to Tierra del Fuego.
 

4. Project funding requested

It is requested that the level of funding for 2000 be maintained at the 1999 level (i.e. USD$7000.-). Funds requested will be used to encourage the attendance of people from developing countries. The annual meeting for 2000 will be held in Patagonia, and in view of the logistics and resource limitations of the hosts, a portion of the funds requested would be required in order to host the meeting in Patagonia.

One of the obvious areas of high priority in the use of UNESCO funds is to promote the participation by scientists from developing countries. It is apparent, however, that in most cases these scientists essentially require full support to attend these meetings unless the meeting is held in a developing country. Accordingly, in order to encourage any interaction from people from developing countries the minimum funding for the year 2000 will need to be comparable to that awarded in 1999.
 

5. Request for extension

Not applicable

6. Attachments

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (1999)

Bardaji, T., Silva, P.G., Goy, J.L., Zazo, C., Dabrio, C.J., Civis, J. (1999). Recent evolution of the Aguilas Arc Basins (SE Spain): Sea-level record and neotectonics. INQUA MS-4 Newsletter, 21, 21-26.

Brückner, H. (ed) (1999). Dynamik, Datierung, kologie und Management von Küsten. Marburger Geographische Schriften, 134, 24-38. Marburg.

Dawson, A.G., Smith, D.E., Dawson, S., Brooks, C.L., Foster, I.D.L. & Tooley, M.J. (1999). Lateglacial climate change and coastal evolution in western Jura, Scottish Inner Hebrides. Geologie en Mijnbouw, 77, 225-232.

Fletcher, C.H. & Matthews, J.V. (eds). 1999. The Non-steady State of the Inner Shelf and Shoreline: Coastal Changeon the Time Scale of Decades to Millennia in the Late Quaternary. Abstracts with Programs, Inaugural Meeting of IGCP Project#437 "Coastal Environmental Change During Sea Level Highstands", University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA, Nov. 9-12, 249p.

Fletcher, C.H., Hearty, P.J., Murray-Wallace, C.V., Glenn, C.R., Sherman, C.E. & Popp, B. 1999. Molokai Field Trip Guidebook.

Kawana, T. & Pirazzoli, P.A. (1999). Holocene corals and shells from Taketomi, Iriomote, Aguni and Zamami, the Ryukyus, Japan. Bulletin of College of Education, University of the Ryukyus, 54, 67-77.

Kraft, J.C., Brückner, H. & Kayan, I. (1999). Palaeogeographies of ancient coastal environments in the environs of the Feigengarten excavation and the "Via(e) Sacra(e)" to the Artemision at Ephesus. In, Scherrer, P. Taeuber, H. & Thür, H (eds). Steine und Wege. Festschrift für Dieter Knibbe zum 65 Geburtstag. Osterreichisches Asterreichisches Archaeologisches Institut, Sonderschriften Bd. 32, 91-100, Wein.

Laborel, J., Morhange, C., Collina-Girard, J. & Laborel-Deguen, F. (1999). Shoreline bioerosion, a tool for the study of sea level variations during the Holocene, Danish Geological Journal, 45, 144-148.

Morhange, C., Goiran, J.P., Bourcier, M., Carbonel, P., Le Campion, J., Pyatt, B. & Prone, A., Rouchy, J.-M., Sourisseau, J.-C. & Yon, M. (1999). 3000 ans de modofications des environnements littoraux à Kition Bamboula, Larnaca, Chypre, Méditerranée, Quaternaire, 10, 133-149

Mörner, N.-A. (1999). Paleo-tsunamis in Sweden. Phys. Chem. Earth (B), 24, 443-448.

Mörner, N.-A. (1999). Sea level and climate: Rapid regressions at local warm phase. Quaternary International, (in press).

Nunn, P.D. (1999). Environmental Change in the Pacific Basin. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., United Kingdom, 413pp.

Nunn, P.D. & Omura, A. (1999). Penultimate interglacial emerged reef around Kadavu Island, Southwest Pacific: Implications for Late Quaternary island-arc tectonics and sea-level history. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 42, 219-227.

Nunn, P.D., Veitayaki, J., Ram-Bidesi, V. & Vunisea, A. (1999). Coastal issues for oceanic islands: implications for human futures. Natural Resources Forum, 23, 195-207.

Pirazzoli, P.A., Stiros, S.C., Arnold, M., Laborel, J. & Laborel-Deguen, F. (1999). Late Holocene coseismic vertical displacements and tsunami deposits near Kynos, Gulf of Euboea, central Greece. Phys. Chem. Earth (A), 24, 361-367.

Regnauld, H. (1999). L’Élevation et les variations du niveau marine a l’Holocène terminal dans l’ouest Français: Une approche par les dépôts de tempêtes. Quaternaire, 10, 181-188.

Regnauld, H., Foulon, N., Lomont, M & Delegue, S. (1999). Évolution naturelle et évolution anthropique du littoral de l’abbaye de Beauport, Bretagne Nord, France. Geomorphologie: relief, processsus, environment, 2, 173-186.

Reyss, J.L., Pirazzoli, P.A., Haghipour, A., Hatté, C. & Fontugne, M. (1998). Quaternary marine terraces and tectonic uplift rates on the south coast of Iran. In, Stewart, I.S. & Vita-Finzo,C. (eds). Coastal Tectonics, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 146, 225-237.

Zazo, C., Dabrio, C.J., Borja, F., Goy, J.L., Lezine, A.M., Lario, J., Polo, M.D. Hoyos, M., & Boersma, J.R. (1999). Pleistocene and Holocene aeolian facies along the Huelva Coast (southern Spain): climatic and neotectonic implications. Geologie en Mijnbouw, 77, 209-224.