Climate related sea-level variations over the past two millennia

We present new sea-level reconstructions for the past 2100 y based on salt-marsh sedimentary sequences from the US Atlantic coast. The data from North Carolina reveal four phases of persistent sea-level change after correction for glacial isostatic adjustment. Sea level was stable from at least BC 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2011-07, Vol.108 (27), p.11017-11022
Main Authors: Kemp, Andrew C., Horton, Benjamin P., Donnelly, Jeffrey P., Mann, Michael E., Vermeer, Martin, Rahmstorf, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A priori knowledge
Climate change
Coasts
Geology
Oceans
Paleoclimate science
Paleoclimatology
Physical Sciences
Proxy reporting
Proxy statements
Sea level
Sea level rise
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Summary:We present new sea-level reconstructions for the past 2100 y based on salt-marsh sedimentary sequences from the US Atlantic coast. The data from North Carolina reveal four phases of persistent sea-level change after correction for glacial isostatic adjustment. Sea level was stable from at least BC 100 until AD 950. Sea level then increased for 400 y at a rate of 0.6 mm/y, followed by a further period of stable, or slightly falling, sea level that persisted until the late 19th century. Since then, sea level has risen at an average rate of 2.1 mm/y, representing the steepest century-scale increase of the past two millennia. This rate was initiated between AD 1865 and 1892. Using an extended semiempirical modeling approach, we show that these sea-level changes are consistent with global temperature for at least the past millennium.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1015619108