Holocene sea-level changes and coastal processes on the south coast of Ireland: corals and the problems of sea-level methodology in temperate waters.

An assessment is made of the potential use of the available coral forms in sea level studies in North Atlantic waters. To illustrate the difficulty in obtaining accurate measurements the coastline of Southwest Ireland is discussed. Offshore the occurrence of coral is limited to a few coral species and the intertidal zone has some "coraline" algae. A study of the barrier beaches shows that little new sediment is being supplied to these structures. Behind the barriers lower energy brackish water lagoons occur. Biostratigraphic examination of sediments found in these lagoons and the estuary environment show the presence of former freshwater conditions alternating with long phases of brackish water-marine inundation. Models comparable with those based on coral data were developed for sea level changes.