Sea Level Change Through the Last Glacial Cycle

TLDR

Sea level change in the Quaternary is driven by cyclic ice‑sheet growth and decay, producing complex spatial and temporal patterns that constrain ice‑mass timing, rates, magnitudes, and mantle response to surface loading over 10³–10⁵ yr. The study aims to develop comprehensive sea‑level models that predict coastal migration during glacial cycles, especially the 60–20 ka anthropologically relevant interval. The authors construct these models by integrating ice‑sheet dynamics, mantle viscoelastic response, and sea‑level observations to simulate spatially and temporally resolved sea‑level change. Regional analyses reveal that the Earth‑response function varies with depth and location, indicating spatially variable mantle deformation.

Abstract

Sea level change during the Quaternary is primarily a consequence of the cyclic growth and decay of ice sheets, resulting in a complex spatial and temporal pattern. Observations of this variability provide constraints on the timing, rates, and magnitudes of the changes in ice mass during a glacial cycle, as well as more limited information on the distribution of ice between the major ice sheets at any time. Observations of glacially induced sea level changes also provide information on the response of the mantle to surface loading on time scales of 10 3 to 10 5 years. Regional analyses indicate that the earth-response function is depth dependent as well as spatially variable. Comprehensive models of sea level change enable the migration of coastlines to be predicted during glacial cycles, including the anthropologically important period from about 60,000 to 20,000 years ago.