In:
Earth System Science Data, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 14, No. 4 ( 2022-04-04), p. 1447-1492
Abstract:
Abstract. Because global sea level during the last interglacial
(LIG; 130–115 ka) was higher than today, the LIG is a useful approximate
analogue for improving predictions of future sea-level rise. Here, we
synthesize sea-level proxies for the LIG in the glaciated Northern
Hemisphere for inclusion in the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines
(WALIS) database. We describe 82 sites from Russia, northern Europe,
Greenland and North America from a variety of settings, including boreholes,
riverbank exposures and along coastal cliffs. Marine sediments at these
sites were constrained to the LIG using a variety of radiometric methods
(radiocarbon, uranium–thorium, potassium–argon), non-radiometric methods (amino acid dating, luminescence methods, electron spin resonance,
tephrochronology) as well as various stratigraphic and palaeo-environmental approaches. In general, the sites reported in this paper do not offer constraint on the global LIG highstand, but rather evidence of glacial
isostatic adjustment (GIA)-influenced sea-level positions following the
Marine Isotope Stage 6 glaciation (MIS 6; 191–130 ka). Most of the proxies
suggest that sea level was much higher during the LIG than at the present
time. Moreover, many of the sites show evidence of regression due to
sea-level fall (owing to glacial isostatic uplift), and some also show
fluctuations that may reflect regrowth of continental ice or increased
influence of the global sea-level signal. In addition to documenting LIG sea-level sites in a large swath of the Northern Hemisphere, this compilation is
highly relevant for reconstructing the size of MIS 6 ice sheets through GIA
modelling. The database is available at
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5602212 (Dalton et al., 2021).
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1866-3516
DOI:
10.5194/essd-14-1447-2022
Language:
English
Publisher:
Copernicus GmbH
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2475469-9
