Ice sheet collapse following a prolonged period of stable sea level during the last interglacial
dc.contributor.author | O'Leary, Michael | |
dc.contributor.author | Hearty, P. | |
dc.contributor.author | Thompson, W. | |
dc.contributor.author | Raymo, M. | |
dc.contributor.author | Mitrovica, J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Webster, J. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2017-01-30T10:33:16Z | |
dc.date.available | 2017-01-30T10:33:16Z | |
dc.date.created | 2014-01-14T20:01:04Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2013 | |
dc.identifier.citation | O'Leary, Michael J. and Hearty, Paul J. and Thompson, William G. and Raymo, Maureen E. and Mitrovica, Jerry X. and Webster, Jody M. 2013. Ice sheet collapse following a prolonged period of stable sea level during the last interglacial. Nature Geoscience. 6 (9): pp. 796-800. | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3679 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/NGEO1890 | |
dc.description.abstract |
During the last interglacial period, 127-116 kyr ago, global mean sea level reached a peak of 5-9m above present-day sea level. However, the exact timing and magnitude of ice sheet collapse that contributed to the sea-level highstand is unclear. Here we explore this timing using stratigraphic and geomorphic mapping and uranium-series geochronology of fossil coral reefs and geophysical modelling of sea-level records from Western Australia. We show that between 127 and 119 kyr ago, eustatic sea level remained relatively stable at about 3-4 m above present sea level. However, stratigraphically younger fossil corals with U-series ages of 118.1±1.4 kyr are observed at elevations of up to 9.5 m above present mean sea level. Accounting for glacial isostatic adjustment and localized tectonics, we conclude that eustatic sea level rose to about 9 m above present at the end of the last interglacial. We suggest that in the last few thousand years of the interglacial, a critical ice sheet stability threshold was crossed, resulting in the catastrophic collapse of polar ice sheets and substantial sea-level rise. | |
dc.publisher | Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Publishers Ltd | |
dc.title | Ice sheet collapse following a prolonged period of stable sea level during the last interglacial | |
dc.type | Journal Article | |
dcterms.source.volume | 6 | |
dcterms.source.number | 9 | |
dcterms.source.startPage | 796 | |
dcterms.source.endPage | 800 | |
dcterms.source.issn | 1752-0894 | |
dcterms.source.title | Nature Geoscience | |
curtin.department | ||
curtin.accessStatus | Fulltext not available |