Submerged Speleothems and Sea Level Reconstructions: A Global Overview and New Results from the Mediterranean Sea

This study presents a world review as well as new additional data in form of submerged speleothems that are used for paleo sea level reconstructions. Speleothems significantly contributed to the understanding of the global and regional sea level variations during the Middle and Late Quaternary. The studied speleothems cover the last 1.4 Myr and are focused mainly on Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 2, 3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.5. Results reveal that submerged speleothems represent extraordinary archives providing detailed information on former sea level changes. We present also new results from stalactites collected in central Mediterranean sea, at Favignana and Ustica islands (Sicily, Italy), both characterized by continental, phreatic or marine layers. The study and analysis of the latter speleothems provide results of great interest for relative sea level changes over the last 1000 years.

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Submerged Speleothems and Sea Level Reconstructions: A Global Overview and New Results from the Mediterranean Sea

Water ◽

10.3390/w13121663 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 1663

Author(s):

Fabrizio Antonioli ◽

Stefano Furlani ◽

Paolo Montagna ◽

Paolo Stocchi ◽

Lucio Calcagnile ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Central Mediterranean ◽

Sea Levels ◽

Cave Deposits ◽

Regional Sea Level ◽

Sea Level Variations ◽

The Mediterranean

This study presents a global overview of the submerged speleothems used to reconstruct paleo sea levels and reports new results from two stalactites collected in the Mediterranean Sea. Coastal cave deposits significantly contributed to the understanding of global and regional sea-level variations during the Middle and Late Quaternary. The studied speleothems cover the last 1.4 Myr and focused mainly on Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 2, 3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.5. The results indicate that submerged speleothems represent extraordinary archives that can provide detailed information on former sea-level changes. The two stalactites collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, at Favignana and Ustica islands (Sicily, Italy), are both characterized by continental, phreatic or marine layers. The U-Th and 14C ages of the new speleothems provide results of great interest for relative sea-level changes over the last 1000 years.

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The Use of Submerged Speleothems for Sea Level Studies in the Mediterranean Sea: A New Perspective Using Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA)

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11020077 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 77

Author(s):

Fabrizio Antonioli ◽

Stefano Furlani ◽

Paolo Montagna ◽

Paolo Stocchi

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

The Bahamas ◽

Isostatic Adjustment ◽

Regional Sea Level ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

New Perspective

The investigation of submerged speleothems for sea level studies has made significant contributions to the understanding of the global and regional sea level variations during the Middle and Late Quaternary. This has especially been the case for the Mediterranean Sea, where more than 300 submerged speleothems sampled in 32 caves have been analysed so far. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the results obtained from the study of submerged speleothems since 1978. The studied speleothems cover the last 1.4 Myr and are mainly focused on Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 2, 3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.5. The results reveal that submerged speleothems represent extraordinary archives providing accurate information on former sea level changes. New results from a stalagmite collected at Palinuro (Campania, Italy) and characterized by marine overgrowth are also reported. The measured elevations of speleothems are affected by the local response to glacial and hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA), and thus might significantly deviate from the global eustatic signal. A comparison of the ages and altitude values of the Mediterranean speleothems and flowstone from the Bahamas with local GIA provides a new scenario for MIS 5 and 7 sea level reconstructions.

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The Use of Submerged Speleothems for Sea Level Research in the Mediterranean SeA: A New Perspective Using Glacial- and Hydro-Isostatic Adjustment (Gia)

10.20944/preprints202101.0052.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

fabrizio antonioli ◽

Stefano Furlani ◽

Paolo Montagna ◽

Paolo Stocchi

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Isostatic Adjustment ◽

Regional Sea Level ◽

Sea Level Variations ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

New Perspective ◽

Mis 5

The investigation of submerged speleothems for sea level studies has made significant contributions to the understanding of the global and regional sea level variations during the Middle and Late Quateranry. This has been especially the case for the Mediterranean Sea, where more than 300 submerged speleothems sampled in 32 caves have been analysed so far. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the results obtained from the study of submerged speleothems since 1978. The studied speleothems cover the last 1.4 Ma and are focused mainly on Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 2, 3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.5. Results reveal that submerged speleothems represent extraordinary archives providing accurate information on former sea level changes, also considering that the Mediterranean Sea is devoid of any tropical corals since the Miocene. New results from a stalagmite collected at Palinuro (Campania, Italy) characterized by marine overgrowth are also reported. The measured elevations of speleothems are contaminated by the local response to glacial- and hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA), and thus might significantly deviate from the global eustatic signal. Age and altitude comparation between Mediterranean speleothems, flowstone from Bahamas with local GIA provide a new scenario for MIS 5 and 7 sea level reconstrutions.

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SEA-LEVELS, LATE QUATERNARY | Late Quaternary Relative Sea-Level Changes at Mid-Latitudes

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-53643-3.00140-0 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 489-494 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A.C. Kemp ◽

B.P. Horton ◽

S.E. Engelhart

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

Sea Levels

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Late Quaternary relative sea-level changes and vertical movements at Lipari (Aeolian Islands)

Journal of Quaternary Science ◽

10.1002/jqs.721 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 17 (5-6) ◽

pp. 459-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

N. Calanchi ◽

F. Lucchi ◽

P. A. Pirazzoli ◽

C. Romagnoli ◽

C. A. Tranne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

Vertical Movements ◽

Aeolian Islands

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Sea-level rise in Venice: historic and future trends (review article)

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-21-2643-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (8) ◽

pp. 2643-2678 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Davide Zanchettin ◽

Sara Bruni ◽

Fabio Raicich ◽

Piero Lionello ◽

Fanny Adloff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Tide Gauge ◽

Average Rate ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

The Past ◽

Gauge Data ◽

Relative Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level Variations

Abstract. The city of Venice and the surrounding lagoonal ecosystem are highly vulnerable to variations in relative sea level. In the past ∼150 years, this was characterized by an average rate of relative sea-level rise of about 2.5 mm/year resulting from the combined contributions of vertical land movement and sea-level rise. This literature review reassesses and synthesizes the progress achieved in quantification, understanding and prediction of the individual contributions to local relative sea level, with a focus on the most recent studies. Subsidence contributed to about half of the historical relative sea-level rise in Venice. The current best estimate of the average rate of sea-level rise during the observational period from 1872 to 2019 based on tide-gauge data after removal of subsidence effects is 1.23 ± 0.13 mm/year. A higher – but more uncertain – rate of sea-level rise is observed for more recent years. Between 1993 and 2019, an average change of about +2.76 ± 1.75 mm/year is estimated from tide-gauge data after removal of subsidence. Unfortunately, satellite altimetry does not provide reliable sea-level data within the Venice Lagoon. Local sea-level changes in Venice closely depend on sea-level variations in the Adriatic Sea, which in turn are linked to sea-level variations in the Mediterranean Sea. Water mass exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar and its drivers currently constitute a source of substantial uncertainty for estimating future deviations of the Mediterranean mean sea-level trend from the global-mean value. Regional atmospheric and oceanic processes will likely contribute significant interannual and interdecadal future variability in Venetian sea level with a magnitude comparable to that observed in the past. On the basis of regional projections of sea-level rise and an understanding of the local and regional processes affecting relative sea-level trends in Venice, the likely range of atmospherically corrected relative sea-level rise in Venice by 2100 ranges between 32 and 62 cm for the RCP2.6 scenario and between 58 and 110 cm for the RCP8.5 scenario, respectively. A plausible but unlikely high-end scenario linked to strong ice-sheet melting yields about 180 cm of relative sea-level rise in Venice by 2100. Projections of human-induced vertical land motions are currently not available, but historical evidence demonstrates that they have the potential to produce a significant contribution to the relative sea-level rise in Venice, exacerbating the hazard posed by climatically induced sea-level changes.

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Eustatic control of late Quaternary sea-level change in the Arabian/Persian Gulf

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2014.03.002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 175-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Thomas Stevens ◽

Matthew J. Jestico ◽

Graham Evans ◽

Anthony Kirkham

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Persian Gulf ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Osl Dating ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Last Interglacial ◽

Coastal Evolution ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Sea Level Variations ◽

The Last Glacial

AbstractAccurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring >100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.

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