Sea Levels during the Past 35,000 Years

TLDR

A sea‑level curve for the Atlantic continental shelf of the United States covering the past 35,000 years is based on more than 80 radiocarbon dates, including 15 older than 15,000 years. The curve was derived from shallow‑water mollusks, oolites, coralline algae, beachrock, and salt‑marsh peat. Sea level was near present levels 30–35 kyr ago, fell to about –130 m at 16 kyr due to glacier growth, then rose rapidly during the Holocene to ~7000 yr ago, and the curve aligns with global shelves, indicating it approximates the eustatic curve.

Abstract

A sea-level curve of the past 35,000 years for the Atlantic continental shelf of the United States is based on more than 80 radiocarbon dates, 15 of which are older than 15,000 years. Materials include shallow-water mollusks, oolites, coralline algae, beachrock, and salt-marsh peat. Sea level 30,000 to 35,000 years ago was near the present one. Subsequent glacier growth lowered sea level to about -130 meters 16,000 years ago. Holocene transgression probably began about 14,000 years ago, and continued rapidly to about 7000 years ago. Dates from most shelves of the world agree with this curve, suggesting that it is approximately the eustatic curve for the period.