An 8000 year Holocene sea-level record from Jamaica: implications for interpretation of Caribbean reef and coastal history

Two coastal wetlands in western Jamaica have been investigated by means of extensive coring, stratigraphic study, determination of depositional environments and radiocarbon dating of 55 samples. The study has resulted in construction of two curves of the mid to late-Holocene sea-level rise in the area. The curves are regarded as good indicators of sea-surface movements during the last 8000 years, and represent the first curves from island settings within the Caribbean Plate. Probable absence of any significant Holocene tectonic disturbance allows direct comparison with sea-level curves from Florida and Bermuda. Observed differences between them highlight the problems involved in use of extra-regional curves in interpretation of Holocene reef growth, which has been the case, particularly in the eastern Caribbean. The curves provide a framework for study of Holocene reef growth and coastal history in Jamaica, and obviate the need for non-coral based sea-level-rise curves from other parts of the Caribbean for control in reef growth studies.