Abstract
Post Nipissing-phase strandplains of the Great Lakes reflect late-Holocene water levels that are linked to climate variability, glacial isostasy, and changes in basin hydrology. This study examines a strandplain sequence at Bailey’s Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin, along Lake Michigan, which contains a record of water-level variations during the past 1000 years, following the separation of the Lake Michigan-Huron basin from the Lake Superior basin. Vibracores are used to define the current elevation of the foreshore facies in 25 preserved beach ridges. Optical ages for five individual beach ridges are compared with radiocarbon ages on basal peats from nine swales collected in a previous study. The optical chronology yields a ridge formation/preservation rate of 30 ± 2 yr/ridge similar to that of previous assessments. This study further demonstrates the efficacy of optical dating for deciphering late-Holocene beach-ridge sequences, providing multidecadal resolution. Lake level meets or exceeds, by at least 0.5 m, historic metrics at
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