Inferred uplift rates from raised marine surfaces, southern Fiordland, New Zealand

Abstract

Well-preserved remnants of a flight of raised marine benches can be recognised at altitudes of up to 1000 m above sea level in the extreme southwest of Fiordland. Radiocarbon-dated wood samples indicate an uplift rate of about 1.5 mm/year for the youngest raised surface, and a long-term rate of 3.2 mm/year is calculated on the basis of correlation of the sequence with similar raised marine features in Taranaki and New Guinea. The uplift rate does not appear to have been constant through time but has fluctuated between 5.4 and 1.5 mm/year. There is no convincing evidence of seaward tilting, instead it appears that much of southern Fiordland is rising rather uniformly.