Coastal uplift rate at Matanzas (Cuba) inferred from MIS5e phreatic overgrowths on speleothems |
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| Authors: | Jo De Waele Ilenia M D'Angeli Nicola Tisato Paola Tuccimei Michele Soligo Joaquín Ginés Angel Ginés Joan J Fornós Igor M Villa Esteban R Grau González Stefano M Bernasconi Tomaso R R Bontognali |
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| Institution: | 1. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy;2. Associazione di Esplorazioni Geografiche la Venta, Treviso, Italy;3. Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA;4. Dipartimento di Scienze, Università “Roma Tre”, Rome, Italy;5. Grup de Ciències de la Terra (Geologia i Paleontologia), Dept. Biologia, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain;6. Institut für Geologie, Universit?t Bern, Bern, Switzerland;7. Centro Universitario Datazioni e Archeometria, Università di Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy;8. Comité Espeleológico de Matanzas, Sociedad Espeleológica de Cuba, Matanzas, Cuba;9. Geological Department, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland |
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| Abstract: | Many morphological elements in Cuba's landscape (e.g. marine terraces, tidal notches) demonstrate that coastal uplift has taken place, but the rate at which this occurs is not known. Carbonate phreatic overgrowths on speleothems have been found in a cave in Central North Cuba, ~1 km from the present coastline at 16 m asl. They form exceptional and unique mushroom‐shaped speleothems and balconies decorating the walls of the rooms. These phreatic overgrowths on speleothems (POS) formed at the oscillating air–water interface in sea‐level controlled anchialine lakes. U/Th dating of these overgrowths suggests ages that are compatible with the Marine Isotope Stage 5e (i.e. 130–115 ka). These POS have fixed this sea‐level highstand and demonstrate that this part of Cuba has been subjected to a much lower uplift rate than previously reported, that is, less than 0.1 mm/year since the last interglacial. |
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