Dynamic sea-level change during the last deglaciation of northern Iceland

A detailed reconstruction of deglacial relative sea-level changes at the northern coast of Iceland, based on the lithe-and biostratigraphy of lake basins, indicates an overall fall in relative sea level of about 45 m between 11 300 and 9100 BP, corresponding to an isostatic rebound of 77 m. The overall regression was interrupted by two minor transgressions during the late Younger Dryas and in early Preboreal, and these were probably caused by a combination of expansions of local ice caps and readvances of the Icelandic inland ice-sheer margin. Maximum absolute uplift rates are recorded during the regressional phase between the two transgressions (10 000-9850 BP), with a mean value of c. 15 cm . C-14 yr(-1) or 11-12 cm . cal. yr(-1). Mean absolute uplift during the regressional phase following the second transgression (9700-9100 BP) was around 6 cm . C-14 yr(-1), corresponding to c. 3 cm . cal. yr(-1), and relative sea level dropped below present-day sea level at 9000 BP.