A map appeared in my feed that asked questions in my mind. The article is about an underground forest of cypress trees off the Alabama coast that someone discovered some time ago, along with understanding that the sea level was 60 ft or so less in that era. To those that will understand, that means that Chandeluer Island is pretty much the shoreline due south of us at one time in history. And they put the PRESENT day shoreline in MS around Horn Island. Now eight miles out. And just a 1/2 mile below my house, 12-15 miles inland, is an....ancient beach. Which is all told, about 80 miles from that ancient shoreline out there in the gulf. What caused it? Was it the rivers that ran through here or the ocean out there?
To the east of me is a ...swamp. Now there is a lake there but once it was the worst place on earth, bar none. It is a big area of wetlands that connect two rivers, and while surface water doesn't flow there, I'm sure they are connected in some way. If you look at the satellite picture you can understand the land between these rivers was at one time the domain of the rivers, but they moved around during different epochs, to the places they now occupy. And I live on a ridge that runs through all that.
Anyway, take it for what you will, here's the map and I cannot verify ANY of this information is actually true. But what I DO highly suspect if all the above is true, is that investigation into ancient peoples in THIS place is hampered by the evidence being 60 ft. underwater.
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Yes, the sea level has changed both up and down over the ages. It is thought (not proven) that when sea levels were lower that perhaps far earlier immigration into the western hemisphere was by boats along the Pacific coastline. Those early settlements would now be deep underwater. Both the linguistic divergence and number of indigenous languages along with some DNA evidence also seem to suggest an older timeline for possible earlier and more than one immigration event. I really enjoy following this kind of stuff. Thanks for posting.
When I worked as a biologist in Florida many years ago, I did a study of Seminole Killifish food habits. They are a freshwater species that is closely related to some saltwater members of the genius Fundulus such as the Gulf Killifish which are found in salt and brackish water along the southern Gulf and Atlantic coast. The Seminole Killifish is endemic to Florida and is thought to have evolved from a saltwater species in a time when the sea levels where much higher and Florida was a group of islands.
There are "anomalies" in the ancient records that say the present theories are not accurate as far as the timelines used. That the peopling of North American happened much sooner than has been "accepted". And if you know how those sites were dated and the fallacies behind such methods, you might lean more toward the older than dirt theory. At any rate, people have been on this coast for a very long time. Heck, even the white people showed up in 1699!!
Eastern North Carolina, according to geologists, is one of the fastest changing landmasses in the world. Within recorded history, 100+ acre plantations existed on Albemarle Sound on islands as late as 1830 that no longer exist.
Albemarle Sound had multiple inlets to the ocean that were used by ships as late as early 19th Century to get into the swamps where they would fill their fresh water tanks. The swamp water just didn't go bad for a year or two. These inlets have been closed and filled in by hurricanes over the last 200 years. Oregon Inlet is the only remaining inlet to the Atlantic, and it has to be constantly dredged to keep it open.
During the Civil War, Albemarle Sound was a major Confederate system of ports and supply. It wasn't until 1864 that the US Navy was able to apply enough force to take out the CSA Navy in the Sound. Today there is virtually no commercial maritime traffic outside the ICW.
Meanwhile, the barrier islands that directly face the Atlantic are moving westward, sometimes numerous feet in one year. Cape Hatteras lighthouse has been moved twice to prevent it from being washed away.
Similar is true for Pamilico and especially Core Sound. Towns (like Portsmouth) that serviced ships entering the sounds have been abandoned after WW2 as the inlets filled in and the sounds got shallower.
Sea level today is significantly lower in the Mediterranean than it was 2000 years ago. Meanwhile in North America SE and Gulf Coasts, the land is either sinking or the water level is rising in some places. On the sound side of the barrier islands in NC, some of the land is rising.
Our Creator knows more than we do.
Fred W
The Mediterranean Sea is a complex body of water surrounded by a complex geology. Sea levels are influenced by tides, currents, temperature, density and water inputs. Coastal sea levels are also influenced by subsidence and uplift of the land. From what I found doing a bit of checking is that data from monitoring from satellites and sea-based gauges, etc. and averaged for the variables of seasons and tides, etc. is that the Mediterranean Sea has risen in most of its surface areas. Here are a couple of links to two studies on the topic.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the--Sea-level-linear-trends-over-the-period-1993-2017-Seasonal_fig3_332052317
https://www.ingv.it/en/stampa-urp/ufficio-stampa/comunicati-stampa/mediterraneo-al-rialzo-le-stime-sull-aumento-del-livello-marino-sulle-coste-entro-la-fine-del-secolo
There was an island that was a popular beach resort in the 1800s with houses on it seaward of Edisto Island here in SC that now is completely gone due to hurricanes and the constant power of the ocean. It is foolish to think the coastline is a static entity. The sea is a powerful force of nature that constantly interacts with the coast. Many of the places I paddle and camp on the coast that are undeveloped have changed over the last 15 years. Coastal beaches where I have pitched tents are now under water at high tides and the dunes have moved back from where they once stood. Maritime forests are eroded into leaving what are called boneyards of the trees like skeletons on the beach and in the water. Cape Romain island has been cut in two and the north end is extending itself. The Lighthouse at the mouth of Charleston Hador which was built on the land of Morris Island is now standing out in the Ocean.
Morris Island Lighthouse
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Bull Island Boneyard
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Capers Island Boneyard
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