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Lack of evidence for a substantial sea-level fluctuation within the Last Interglacial

Nature Geoscience volume 11, pages 627–634 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

During the Last Interglacial, global mean sea level reached approximately 6 to 9 m above the present level. This period of high sea level may have been punctuated by a fall of more than 4 m, but a cause for such a widespread sea-level fall has been elusive. Reconstructions of global mean sea level account for solid Earth processes and so the rapid growth and decay of ice sheets is the most obvious explanation for the sea-level fluctuation. Here, we synthesize published geomorphological and stratigraphic indicators from the Last Interglacial, and find no evidence for ice-sheet regrowth within the warm interglacial climate. We also identify uncertainties in the interpretation of local relative sea-level data that underpin the reconstructions of global mean sea level. Given this uncertainty, and taking into account our inability to identify any plausible processes that would cause global sea level to fall by 4 m during warm climate conditions, we question the occurrence of a rapid sea-level fluctuation within the Last Interglacial. We therefore recommend caution in interpreting the high rates of global mean sea-level rise in excess of 3 to 7 m per 1,000 years that have been proposed for the period following the Last Interglacial sea-level lowstand.

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Fig. 1: Probabilistic reconstruction of GMSL by Kopp et al.4 during the LIG.
Fig. 2: Selected records indicating climate changes and/or ice-sheet changes during the LIG.
Fig. 3: Theoretical mechanisms of ice-sheet growth and inception.

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Acknowledgements

N.L.M.B. and A.J.L. acknowledge funding from a UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant (NE/I008675/1). E.L.M. acknowledges funding support from a Philip Leverhulme Prize (2013). P.L.W. and S.S.R.J. acknowledge NERC Independent Research Fellowships (NE/K009958/1, NE/J018333/1). This paper has been the result of a several workshops funded by the Department of Geography at Durham University. The paper is a contribution to PALSEA (an INQUA International Focus Group and a PAGES working group), the INQUA Commission on Coastal and Marine Processes, the Sea Level and Coastal Change (SLaCC) working group and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research SERCE and PAIS programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Natasha L. M. Barlow

  2. Department of Geography, Durham University, Lower Mountjoy, Durham, UK

    Erin L. McClymont, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Chris R. Stokes, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Sarah A. Woodroffe, Michael J. Bentley, S. Louise Callard, Colm Ó Cofaigh, David J. A. Evans, Jennifer R. Horrocks, Jerry M. Lloyd, Antony J. Long, David H. Roberts & Maria L. Sanchez-Montes

  3. Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Martin Margold

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N.L.M.B. and E.L.M. conceived and led the study. P.L.W. conducted the GIA modelling. All authors contributed ideas and to the development and writing of the paper.

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Barlow, N.L.M., McClymont, E.L., Whitehouse, P.L. et al. Lack of evidence for a substantial sea-level fluctuation within the Last Interglacial. Nature Geosci 11, 627–634 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0195-4

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