Ancient oysters provide far-field sea-level constraints on ice melt timing and sources during the early–mid Holocene climate transition

Ancient oysters provide far-field sea-level constraints on ice melt timing and sources during the early–mid Holocene climate transition | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Ancient oysters provide far-field sea-level constraints on ice melt timing and sources during the early–mid Holocene climate transition Howard Yu, Udita Mukherjee, Tanghua Li, Jackson Lau, Katherine Strattman, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8143807/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) reconstructions from far-field regions constrain past ice volume and global mean sea-level change, yet records from the South China Sea remain contentious, particularly regarding existence of a mid-Holocene highstand. Here, we present a revised RSL history for the Pearl River Delta based on six new radiocarbon-dated index points from an ancient Saccostrea cuccullata oyster reef, integrated into an updated, quality-controlled database of 292 data points. Ecological, petrographic, and geochronologic analyses confirm the reef formed in situ within its habitat limits during a sustained RSL highstand. The combined dataset reveals rapid early Holocene RSL rise, reaching 2.3 ± 0.5 m by 5.4 ka and declining to 1.6 ± 0.5 m at 3.3 ka before reaching present level. Comparison with glacial isostatic adjustment models suggests delayed early Holocene meltwater input dominated by Northern Hemisphere sources, consistent with far-field records across Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. Our findings resolve longstanding debates over mid-Holocene RSL evolution in the South China Sea and provide robust constraints for Holocene sea-level budgets. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Palaeoclimate Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Palaeoecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Yu2025bSupplementaryinformation1V22.pdf Supplementary information 1 Yu2025bSupplementaryinformation2V21.xlsx Supplementary information 2 Yu2025bSupplementaryinformation3.xlsx Supplementary information 3 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8143807","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":546904025,"identity":"0c2bdea9-3aa7-4f23-aabd-34f9472f7d78","order_by":0,"name":"Howard 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