Sea level changes at active plate margins: processes and products
A joint IAS/Geological Society of London meeting, organized by the British Sedimentological Research Group, was held in London at the Geological Society on 9-11 May 1989, to address the problem of recognizing the controls on, and effects of sea level change at active plate margins. The conference consisted of 48 talks and 11 poster presentations, with about 170 delegates attending. The conference was introduced by the convenor D. I. M. Macdonald (BAS, Cambridge), followed by a short opening session on tectonics, eustasy and stratigraphy. B. U. Haq (NSF) introduced the concept of sequence stratigraphy, and the now familiar global cycle charts, arguing that systems tracts and sequences could be used for regional and inter-regional correlation. J. F. Dewey & W. C. Pitman III (Oxford and Lamont Doherty) considered the problem of the mechanics behind eustatic sea level changes, suggesting that changing ocean basin volume, due to fluctuations in spreading rate, may provide a way of generating the long-term cycles seen. However, such processes were gradual and could not produce the rapid short-term cycles. These short-term cycles could be attributed to changing ice-volume during periods of known glaciation; but how are they generated during non-glacial periods? Sea level changes at Neogene and Recent margins were discussed in the second session. M. Dobson (Aberystwyth) suggested that the control on sedimentation at the Aleutian arc was more a function of separate block activity, rather than arc-wide tectonics or eustatic controls. R. D. Larter & P. Barker (BAS, Cambridge) provided evidence for post-collision uplift