EUSTATIC SHORE LINES IN THE PACIFIC

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 1945 EUSTATIC SHORE LINES IN THE PACIFIC HAROLD T STEARNS HAROLD T STEARNS 333 FEDERAL BUILDING, HONOLULU 2, T. H. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information HAROLD T STEARNS 333 FEDERAL BUILDING, HONOLULU 2, T. H. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 09 Apr 1945 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Copyright © 1945, The Geological Society of America, Inc. Copyright is not claimed on any material prepared by U.S. government employees within the scope of their employment. GSA Bulletin (1945) 56 (11): 1071–1078. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1945)56[1071:ESLITP]2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 09 Apr 1945 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation HAROLD T STEARNS; EUSTATIC SHORE LINES IN THE PACIFIC. GSA Bulletin 1945;; 56 (11): 1071–1078. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1945)56[1071:ESLITP]2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract A suite of shore lines and horizontal coralliferous limestone terraces of Quaternary age, indicating halts of the sea 560, 260, 215, 150, 100, 45, 27, and 5 feet above mean sea level, and drowned valleys and shelves indicating halts at about 60 and 300 feet below sea level are present on Espiritu Santo Island in the New Hebrides group. Other terraces at intermediate levels above 45 feet were seen, but their altitudes were not determined. Remnants of a terrace about 1200 feet above sea level are also present. The terraces correspond in altitude and in sequence with those on the Hawaiian Islands about 3000 miles away, which seems to indicate that eustatic shifts in sea level ranging from at least 300 feet below to 560 feet above present sea level may have occurred in Quaternary time. Several of the terraces have been identified on Saipan in the Marianas Islands 3200 miles west of the Hawaiian Islands and 2229 miles north of Espiritu Santo Island. Four hypotheses are offered to account for the great shifts in sea level. It is believed that these eustatic shifts gave opportunity for the great development of coral reefs in the Pacific in Pleistocene time. The smaller shifts appear to be chiefly the result of the rise and fall of sea level concomitant with glaciation and deglaciation and concurrent changes in the configuration of the ocean floors. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.