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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15060957/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- Rapid sea-level changes during the last interglacial highstand have been inferred from distinct stratigraphic units, which
suggest multiple episodes of reef growth1. However, it is difficult to resolve the age differences between fossil reef units2,
3, 4, 5, and results from conventional U–Th geochronology instead suggest a prolonged, stable sea-level highstand during
the last interglacial6, 7, 8. Here we present U–Th ages from last interglacial coral reef sequences in the Bahamas that
reflect the timing of sea-level highstands. We use a method that corrects the ages for diagenetic disturbance of the U–Th
isotope ratios. Our dated Bahamas stratigraphy confirms that at least one sea-level oscillation interrupted the last
interglacial highstand. Further oscillations, as suggested by reconstructions from the Red Sea9, would also be consistent
with our data. We estimate that the minimum rate of sea-level change across the first oscillation was 2.6 m per 1,000
years, slightly lower than previous estimates9, 10. In contrast, during the past 6,000 years of the Holocene interglacial,
sea level was relatively stable11. We therefore suggest that ice sheets during the last interglacial, which was warmer than
today and has been proposed as an analogue for future warming12, 13, were less stable than during the mid-to-late
Holocene.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
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