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Catastrophic tidal expansion in the Bay of Fundy, Canada

Catastrophic tidal expansion in the Bay of Fundy, Canada
Catastrophic tidal expansion in the Bay of Fundy, Canada
Tidal models for the Bay of Fundy, Canada — site of the highest recorded modern tide — show that tidal amplification began in the early Holocene and by ca. 5000 BP the range was almost 80% of the present range. Empirical data consisting of 146 sea-level index points and other observations appear to contradict model results. Aggregated relative sea-level data for Chignecto Bay and Minas Basin show that rapid tidal expansion began ca. 3400 BP. However, if we separate these two geographically separate data sets, evidence for this rapid late-Holocene tidal expansion is confined to Minas Basin. We explain this singularity by positing a barrier at the mouth of Minas Basin, at the Minas Passage, that delayed tidal expansion. With the rapid breakdown of this barrier and near-instantaneous tidal expansion, water temperature dropped, tidal currents and turbidity increased, and the form of the inner estuary was changed from lagoonal–mesotidal to macrotidal. We argue that the catastrophic breakdown of the barrier is related in the aboriginal legend of Glooscap, showing that aboriginal peoples observed the rapid environmental changes and preserved an oral record for 3400 years.
0008-4077
1079-1091
Shaw, John
8a384091-951b-44e1-a144-aff3301a5f8d
Amos, Carl L.
d0a18a13-bccd-4fdc-8901-aea595d4ed5c
Greenberg, David A.
708e2251-1ade-4975-a75e-e7b0b13f55e8
O’Reilly, Charles T.
0a8f5b9a-82c0-4cf5-9438-bae81fbf0f6d
Parrott, D. Russell
bb50827a-6448-4027-907e-21ab9483f5a7
Patton, Eric
423aac84-e9f9-4690-a617-b7a4adaf4c2d
Shaw, John
8a384091-951b-44e1-a144-aff3301a5f8d
Amos, Carl L.
d0a18a13-bccd-4fdc-8901-aea595d4ed5c
Greenberg, David A.
708e2251-1ade-4975-a75e-e7b0b13f55e8
O’Reilly, Charles T.
0a8f5b9a-82c0-4cf5-9438-bae81fbf0f6d
Parrott, D. Russell
bb50827a-6448-4027-907e-21ab9483f5a7
Patton, Eric
423aac84-e9f9-4690-a617-b7a4adaf4c2d

Shaw, John, Amos, Carl L., Greenberg, David A., O’Reilly, Charles T., Parrott, D. Russell and Patton, Eric (2010) Catastrophic tidal expansion in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 47 (8), 1079-1091. (doi:10.1139/E10-046).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Tidal models for the Bay of Fundy, Canada — site of the highest recorded modern tide — show that tidal amplification began in the early Holocene and by ca. 5000 BP the range was almost 80% of the present range. Empirical data consisting of 146 sea-level index points and other observations appear to contradict model results. Aggregated relative sea-level data for Chignecto Bay and Minas Basin show that rapid tidal expansion began ca. 3400 BP. However, if we separate these two geographically separate data sets, evidence for this rapid late-Holocene tidal expansion is confined to Minas Basin. We explain this singularity by positing a barrier at the mouth of Minas Basin, at the Minas Passage, that delayed tidal expansion. With the rapid breakdown of this barrier and near-instantaneous tidal expansion, water temperature dropped, tidal currents and turbidity increased, and the form of the inner estuary was changed from lagoonal–mesotidal to macrotidal. We argue that the catastrophic breakdown of the barrier is related in the aboriginal legend of Glooscap, showing that aboriginal peoples observed the rapid environmental changes and preserved an oral record for 3400 years.

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Published date: 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 174575
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/174575
ISSN: 0008-4077
PURE UUID: d28c7e43-4769-4e33-96f8-5521a900363d

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Date deposited: 14 Feb 2011 16:17
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:34

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Contributors

Author: John Shaw
Author: Carl L. Amos
Author: David A. Greenberg
Author: Charles T. O’Reilly
Author: D. Russell Parrott
Author: Eric Patton

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