Relative sea-level trends in New York City during the past 1500 years

Andrew C. Kemp, Troy D. Hill, Christopher H. Vane, Niamh Cahill, Philip M. Orton, Stefan A. Talke, Andrew C. Parnell, Kelsey Sanborn, Ellen K. Hartig

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

New York City (NYC) is threatened by 21st-century relative sea-level (RSL) rise because it will experience a trend that exceeds the global mean and has high concentrations of low-lying infrastructure and socioeconomic activity. To provide a long-term context for anticipated trends, we reconstructed RSL change during the past ~1500 years using a core of salt-marsh sediment from Pelham Bay in The Bronx. Foraminifera and bulk-sediment δ13C values were used as sea-level indicators. The history of sediment accumulation was established by radiocarbon dating and recognition of pollution and land-use trends of known age in down-core elemental, isotopic, and pollen profiles. The reconstruction was generated within a Bayesian hierarchical model to accommodate multiple proxies and to provide a unified statistical framework for quantifying uncertainty. We show that RSL in NYC rose by ~1.70 m since ~575 CE (including ~0.38 m since 1850 CE). The rate of RSL rise increased markedly at 1812–1913 CE from ~1.0 to ~2.5 mm/yr, which coincides with other reconstructions along the US Atlantic coast. We investigated the possible influence of tidal-range change in Long Island Sound on our reconstruction using a regional tidal model, and we demonstrate that this effect was likely small. However, future tidal-range change could exacerbate the impacts of RSL rise in communities bordering Long Island Sound. The current rate of RSL rise is the fastest that NYC has experienced for >1500 years, and its ongoing acceleration suggests that projections of 21st-century local RSL rise will be realized.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1169-1186
Number of pages18
JournalHolocene
Volume27
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2017

Keywords

  • Bayesian transfer function
  • The Bronx
  • carbon isotope
  • foraminifera
  • salt marsh
  • sedimentation

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