Sea-Level Highstand 81,000 Years Ago in Mallorca

Global sea level and Earth's climate are closely linked. Using speleothem encrustations from coastal caves on the island of Mallorca, we determined that western Mediterranean relative sea level was approximately 1 meter above modern sea level approximately 81,000 years ago during marine isotope...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2010-02, Vol.327 (5967), p.860-863
Main Authors: Dorale, Jeffrey A, Onac, Bogdan P, Fornós, Joan J, Ginés, Joaquin, Ginés, Angel, Tuccimei, Paola, Peate, David W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caves
Climate
Encrustation
Geological time
Geology
Glacial landforms
Glaciers
Ice
Insolation
Islands
Mallorca
Management information systems
Marine
Marine isotope stages
Measuring instruments
Paleoclimate science
Sea level
Speleothems
Topographical elevation
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Summary:Global sea level and Earth's climate are closely linked. Using speleothem encrustations from coastal caves on the island of Mallorca, we determined that western Mediterranean relative sea level was approximately 1 meter above modern sea level approximately 81,000 years ago during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5a. Although our findings seemingly conflict with the eustatic sea-level curve of far-field sites, they corroborate an alternative view that MIS 5a was at least as ice-free as the present, and they challenge the prevailing view of MIS 5 sea-level history and certain facets of ice-age theory.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1181725