Radiocarbon Ages of Beach Rocks and Late Holocene Sea-Level Changes in the Southern Part of the Nansei Islands, Southwest of Japan

From the 17th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Jerusalem, Israel, June 18-23, 2000.Beach rock is a good indicator of the past sea levels, as it is considered to have been formed within the range of intertidal zone. Radiocarbon dates of beach rocks collected from Iriomote Island, Ishigaki Island, and Miyako Island, in the southern part of the Nansei Islands, indicate that the beach rocks were formed between around 4000 BP and 400 BP. Late Holocene sea-level changes were revealed based on the elevations and 14C dates of the beach rocks. The results indicate that the sea level was similar to the present one for at least the past 4000 BP. Isotopic fractionations (delta-13C) of the beach rocks were between +9.4 per mil and -0.8 per mil, suggesting a different origin for calcium carbonate.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202