Sea level 6400 000 years ago (MIS 11): analogue for present and future sea-level?

Comparison of the sea-level today with that of 400 000 years ago (MIS 11), when the Earth's orbital characteristics were similar may provide, under conditions of natural variability, indications of future sea-level during the present interglacial. Then, as now, orbital eccentricity was low and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate of the past 2010-01, Vol.6 (1), p.19-29
Main Author: Bowen, D Q
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marine
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Summary:Comparison of the sea-level today with that of 400 000 years ago (MIS 11), when the Earth's orbital characteristics were similar may provide, under conditions of natural variability, indications of future sea-level during the present interglacial. Then, as now, orbital eccentricity was low and precession dampened. Evidence for MIS 11 sea-level occurs on uplifting coastlines where shorelines with geochronological ages have been preserved. The sea-level term and the uplift term may be separated with an "uplift correction" formula. This discovers the original sea-level at which the now uplifted shoreline was fashioned. Estimates are based on average uplift rates of the "last interglacial" sea-level (MIS 5.5) using a range of estimates for sea-level and age at that time at different locations. These, with varying secular tectonic regimes in different ocean basins, provide a band of estimates for the MIS 11 sea-level. They do not support the hypothesis of an MIS 11 sea-level at ~20 m, and instead show that it was closer to its present level.
ISSN:1814-9324
1814-9332