Reconstructing past coastal change in southeast Scotland : evolution of the Fife coastline

Abstract

The study of past relative sea level (RSL) change is crucial to improve our understanding of how coastlines could be affected by future climate change. This thesis adopts a multidisciplinary approach to explore past coastal change in southeast Scotland, with a focus on the Fife coastline. Development of a RSL model within a geographical information system (GIS) framework allowed for the prediction of RSL over the last ~12 ka at locations around the coast of Fife. Using the created prediction surfaces, palaeo-landscapes were reconstructed for key time periods with palaeoshorelines at 3, 6, 9 and 12 ka. The RSL surfaces show a complex history of fluctuating sea level within the last 12 ka. The models were tested with sedimentological and geophysical field data at the site of Largo Bay. A chronometric framework was measured using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (RC) dating at the site with an age range from ~29 ka to <300 years. A close correlation with the modelled RSL was obtained. Geospatial analysis at the field site of Kincraig Point, utilising LiDAR and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey, identified five prominent raised rock platforms (P1-P5) with minimum elevations of -1.1, 4.9, 12.3, 23.7 and 35.9 mOD respectively. Platforms P1 and P2 have been inundated and potentially eroded within the last 12 ka. The correlation between field data and modelled data gives a high level of confidence that this combined approach to study of coastal change could be followed in other similar field locations and further that where field evidence of past coastal change is not present the models may be relied upon to give a good indication of past sea level positions and future trends.