Basin Research (2008) 20, 161–162, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2008.00365.x Pre-Quaternary sea-level changes: records and processes Craig S. Fulthorpe,n Gilbert Camoin,w Kenneth G. Millerz and Andre´ Droxler‰ nThe University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Austin,TX wCEREGE,UMR 6635 CNRS, Aix-en-Provence cedex, France zDepartment of Geological Sciences,Wright Labs, Rutgers,The State University of NewJersey, Piscataway,NJ ‰Department of Earth Sciences, Rice University,Keith-Wiess Geological Labs, Houston,TX

INTRODUCTION Droxler, Fulthorpe and Miller, Eds, 2006. Sea-level records, processes and modeling, A.S.F. Spec. Publ.). This Special Issue of Basin Research focuses on the long- term record of sea-level change from the to the Miocene.The papers arose from a multidisciplinary inter- national symposium SEALAIX’06: Changes: Records, Processes and Modeling held in Presqu’Ile de Giens, SPECIAL ISSUE France from 25 to 29 September 2006 and convened by Short-term global sea-level (eustatic) changes have the Gilbert Camoin, Andre¤Droxler, Craig Fulthorpe and most direct human impact, but the present and the recent Ken Miller.The symposium was sponsored by the Inter- past provide only a ‘snapshot’ of the constantly varying national Association of Sedimentologists (IAS), the climatic and tectonic states that have existed during Society for Sedimentary (SEPM), TOTAL, the the history of the Earth. In order to understand the envir- Centre National de la Recherche Scienti¢que (CNRS), onmental and societal impact of potential future eustatic the Provence-Alpes-Co“ te d’Azur Region, and the French trends, it is vital to document how the Earth system has Association of Sedimentologists (Association des Se¤di- operated under di¡erent past conditions. Therefore, we mentologistes Francais, ASF). All sponsors are gratefully must also evaluate pre-Quaternary icehouse conditions acknowledged. and the greenhouse of the and early Paleogene, Scienti¢c themes of SEALAIX’06 included the records, as well as anomalous events such as the 55 Ma Pale o - sedimentary processes, and modeling of sea-level changes cene-EoceneThermal Maximum. Furthermore, an under- in carbonate, siliciclastic and mixed margins and deep standing of long-term eustatic history is critical to reading sea settings. The symposium was structured around: the stratigraphic record of climatic and geological pro- (1) Quaternary sea-level changes, (2) icehouse Earth sea- cesses because relative sea level and the position of the level changes (last 33 Ma), (3) greenhouse Earth sea-level shoreline control the deposition, erosion and transport of changes (250^33Ma) and (4) Paleozoic sea-level changes. marine . Such understanding is also essential to SEALAIX’06 was attended by 160 participants from 21 understanding how basins ¢ll and to achieve the long- countries (including 17 funded students and young scien- sought goal of predicting margin lithologies in the absence tists). Participants represented diverse specialities and of drilling: it is no coincidence that theories linking research interests, including sedimentology, geochemis- eustasy to were developed within try, geophysics, modeling, geodynamics, geomorphology, the oil industry (e.g., Mitchum et al.,1977;Vail & Mitchum, paleoceanography and biology. Five keynote presenta- 1977). Finally, constraining the long-term history of tions, 45 short talks and 75 posters were presented. sea-level change provides data of direct use to researchers Workshop sessions were held on: (1) current knowledge, in other disciplines because of the relationships between (2) future issues, (3) controversies regarding sea-level eustasy and -sheet growth and decay, nutrients and records, processes, and modeling, and (4) strategies to ocean productivity,carbon storage and ocean chemistry. address sea-level changes within international Earth Although the goal of reconstructing past sea level Sciences programs (e.g., IODP,IMAGES, PAGES, MAR- appears simple, the task is complex because the stratal GINS). Abstracts were assembled in a Special Publication geometries that de¢ne sedimentary sequences worldwide of the Association of French Sedimentologists (Camoin, result from a complex interplay of processes acting in three dimensions. Eustasy competes with climatic and paleoceanographic variations, tectonism (variable rates Correspondence: Craig S. Fulthorpe, The University of Texas at of subsidence), rates of sediment supply and submarine Austin Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jack- son School of Geosciences, J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Bldg. current activity to in£uence relative sea-level and strati- 196 (ROC), 10100 Burnet Rd. (R2200), Austin, TX 78758-4445. graphic development and preservation. Reading the strati- E-mail: [email protected] graphic record, therefore, requires evaluation of multiple r 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation r 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 161 C. S. Fulthorpe et al. processes (including eustasy) at various temporal and Two of the New Jersey papers address three-dimension- spatial scales (Nittrouer & Kravitz, 1995). ality and along-strike variability of sequences and the roles The papers in this Special Issue describe research of local processes in modulating eustatic control on se- carried out on both carbonate and siliciclastic depositional quence architecture. Both highlight the need for extensive environments and sedimentary systems addressing the seismic grids for selection of drillsites in order to target lo- sedimentary response to eustatic change (e.g., sedimen- cations where sequences are su⁄ciently expanded andwell tary architecture, carbonate production, siliciclastic input) de¢ned. Monteverde et al. use seismic and onshore core and the timing and amplitudes of eustatic change. A data to calibrate and map early Miocene sequences be- common thread running through the papers is the neath the inner and middle shelf, where lowstand deposits application of sequence stratigraphy to these problems. form local depocenters that probably re£ect the distribu- Sequence stratigraphy hinges on the identi¢cation of tion of £uvial inputs. Cross-shelf sediment dispersal was the unconformity-bounded units (sequences) that are dominant during periods of falling relative sea level, the building blocks of the stratigraphic record (Vail & whereas along-strike sediment redistribution could dom- Mitchum, 1977). Sequence stratigraphy is one of the inateatother times.Fulthorpe andAustinuse seismic data principal techniques for evaluating the timing and ampli- from the outer shelf and slope to examine overlying mid- tudes of sea-level change (both relative andglobal), as well dle-late Miocene sequences tied to ODP drill sites. They as the stratigraphic response to such changes. This set also ¢nd considerable along-strike variation in sequence of papers applies sequence stratigraphic techniques to architecture, possibly related to di¡erential subsidence, in outcrop, core and re£ection seismic data. spite of the linearity (in plan view) of paleoshelf edges. Ramajo and Aurell employ facies analysis to constrain Along-strike sediment transport may mute the in£uence paleobathymetries across a Jurassic (Callovian-Oxfordian) of individual £uvial point sources and may explain the lack carbonate platform in the northern Iberian basin of Spain. of distinct fan deposits and rarity of onlap. They identify two transgressive-regressive cycles, both As guest editors, we would like to thank the authors for containing higher order cycles, and provide provocative their collaboration.This Special Issue also bene¢ted from evidence for a eustatic fall at the Callovian-Oxfordian the help of many colleagues who acted as reviewers. We transition, possibly related to global cooling, that contrasts warmly thank all reviewers for their e¡orts in ensuring with interpretations of rising global sea level during this the high quality of the Special Issue. Finally, we extend period (e.g., Haq et al., 1987). our thanks to the Basin Research sta¡, especially Associate Tcherepanov et al. also focus on a carbonate setting, Editor Hugh Sinclair for his encouragement and support using seismic and well data to document the Eocene to of this Special Issue, Frances Crombie for her invaluable Miocene carbonate phase of deposition in the Gulf of assistance during the review process, and Production Edi- Papua.They propose that eustasy was the main control on tors Graeme Henderson, Gregor Hutton, and Chief Editor stratigraphic architecture because of similarities between Peter van der Beek. sequence stacking patterns in the gulf and those in other carbonate (e.g., Maldives, Bahamas) and siliciclastic settings worldwide, a pattern described as the stratigraphic signature of the Neogene by Bartek et al.(1991). REFERENCES Four papers address the New Jersey margin, which has Bartek, L.R.,Va i l , P.R., Anderson, J.B., Emmet, P.A. & Wu, been the location of the most comprehensive academic S. (1991) E¡ect of cenozoic £uctuations in sea-level research program to date. Both onshore and on the stratigraphic signature of the Neogene. J. Geophys. Res., o¡shore scienti¢c drilling under the auspices of the Ocean 96, 6753^ 6778. Drilling Program (ODP) is complemented by extensive Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J. & Va i l , P.R. (1987) Chronology of seismic surveys. Kominz et al. use corehole data from the £uctuating sea levels since the (250 million years ago New Jersey coastal plain to estimate eustatic amplitudes to present). Science, 235,1156^1167. for the last108 my using backstripping analysis. Amplitude Mitchum, R.M. Jr.,Va i l , P.R. & Th o m p s o n, S. (1977) Seismic determination is complex because of the multiple stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, part 2: the deposi- parameters that must be constrained and this paper openly tional sequence as a basic unit for stratigraphic analysis. In: confronts the uncertainties involved. Browning et al.used Seismic Stratigraphy^Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration (Ed. by C.E. Payton), AAPG Memoir 26,53^62. the onshore New Jersey coreholes to analyze the latest Nittrouer, C.A. & Kravitz, J.H. (1995) Integrated continental Early Cretaceous to Miocene interval ( 110^7 Ma) focus - margin research to bene¢t ocean and earth sciences. Eos, 76, ing on facies evolution. They identify eight depositional 121^124, 126. phases which replace one another on a 10 my- scale in Va i l , P.R. & Mitchum, R.M. Jr. (1977) Seismic stratigraphy and response to changes in accommodation, shifts in sediment global changes of sea-level, part 1: overview.In: Seismic Strati- supply and provenance, and long-term global sea-level graphy ^Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration (Ed. by C.E. Pay- changes. ton), Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Memoir 26,51^52.

162 r 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation r 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Basin Research, 20,161^162