Abstract
High-quality relative sea-level (RSL) data from mid-latitude regions reveal spatial and temporal variations among eustatic, isostatic (glacio and hydro), and local factors since the Last Glacial Maximum. In regions of the Atlantic seaboard of North America and Europe that were once covered by the major ice sheets, RSL fell by over 100 m because of isostatic rebound. In contrast, observations of the regions at the periphery and beyond of the ice sheets showed continually rising sea levels, at variable rates, due to the interplay between postglacial isostatic recovery, marginal forebulge collapse, and hydroisostatic loading. The RSL observations from the Southern Hemisphere illustrated a mid-Holocene highstand of various magnitudes and timing.
Keywords
Australasia, Europe, Late quaternary, Mid-latitude, North America, Relative sea level, South Africa, South America