Articles | Volume 12, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Jul 2024
Research article |
| 24 Jul 2024
| 24 Jul 2024
Pliocene shorelines and the epeirogenic motion of continental margins: a target dataset for dynamic topography models
Andrew Hollyday
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Maureen E. Raymo
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Jacqueline Austermann
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Fred Richards
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
Mark Hoggard
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Alessio Rovere
Department for Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (DAIS), Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
MARUM Center for Maine Environmental Services, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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William Scott, Mark Hoggard, Thomas Duvernay, Sia Ghelichkhan, Angus Gibson, Dale Roberts, Stephan C. Kramer, and D. Rhodri Davies
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4168, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4168, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Melting ice sheets drive solid Earth deformation and sea-level change on timescales of decades to thousands of years. Here, we present G-ADOPT, which models movement of the solid Earth in response to surface loads. It has flexibility in domain geometry, deformation mechanism parameterisation, and is scalable on high performance computers. Automatic derivation of adjoint sensitivity kernels also provides a means to assimilate historical and modern observations into future sea-level forecasts.
Kerry L. Callaghan, Andrew D. Wickert, Richard Barnes, and Jacqueline Austermann
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 1463–1486, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1463-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1463-2025, 2025
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We present the Water Table Model (WTM), a new model for simulating groundwater and lake levels at continental scales over millennia. The WTM enables long-term evaluations of water-table changes. As a proof of concept, we simulate the North American water table for the present and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), showing that North America held more groundwater and lake water during the LGM than it does today – enough to lower sea levels by 14.98 cm. The open-source code is available on GitHub.
Conor P. B. O'Malley, Gareth G. Roberts, James Panton, Fred D. Richards, J. Huw Davies, Victoria M. Fernandes, and Sia Ghelichkhan
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 9023–9049, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-9023-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-9023-2024, 2024
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We wish to understand how the history of flowing rock within Earth's interior impacts deflection of its surface. Observations exist to address this problem, and mathematics and different computing tools can be used to predict histories of flow. We explore how modeling choices impact calculated vertical deflections. The sensitivity of vertical motions at Earth's surface to deep flow is assessed, demonstrating how surface observations can enlighten flow histories.
Patrick Boyden, Paolo Stocchi, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 917–931, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-917-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-917-2023, 2023
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Preservation bias often hampers the extraction of sea level changes from the stratigraphic record. In this contribution, we use a forward stratigraphic model to build three synthetic subtropical fringing reefs for a site in southwestern Madagascar (Indian Ocean). Each of the three synthetic reefs represents a different ice sheet melt scenario for the Pleistocene. We then evaluate each resultant reef sequence against the observed stratigraphic record.
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Clim. Past, 19, 141–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023, 2023
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We reconstruct sea level extremes due to storm surges in a past warmer climate. We employ a novel combination of paleoclimate modeling and global ocean hydrodynamic modeling. We find that during the Last Interglacial, about 127 000 years ago, seasonal sea level extremes were indeed significantly different – higher or lower – on long stretches of the global coast. These changes are associated with different patterns of atmospheric storminess linked with meridional shifts in wind bands.
Alessio Rovere, Deirdre D. Ryan, Matteo Vacchi, Andrea Dutton, Alexander R. Simms, and Colin V. Murray-Wallace
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1-2023, 2023
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In this work, we describe WALIS, the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines. WALIS is a sea-level database that includes sea-level proxies and samples dated to marine isotope stage 5 (~ 80 to 130 ka). The database was built through topical data compilations included in a special issue in this journal.
Karla Rubio-Sandoval, Alessio Rovere, Ciro Cerrone, Paolo Stocchi, Thomas Lorscheid, Thomas Felis, Ann-Kathrin Petersen, and Deirdre D. Ryan
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4819–4845, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4819-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4819-2021, 2021
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The Last Interglacial (LIG) is a warm period characterized by a higher-than-present sea level. For this reason, scientists use it as an analog for future climatic conditions. In this paper, we use the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines database to standardize LIG sea-level data along the coasts of the western Atlantic and mainland Caribbean, identifying 55 unique sea-level indicators.
Ciro Cerrone, Matteo Vacchi, Alessandro Fontana, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4485–4527, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4485-2021, 2021
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The paper is a critical review and standardization of 199 published scientific papers to compile a Last Interglacial sea-level database for the Western Mediterranean sector. In the database, 396 sea-level data points associated with 401 dated samples are included. The relative sea-level data points and associated ages have been ranked on a 0 to 5 scale score.
Kathrine Maxwell, Hildegard Westphal, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4313–4329, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4313-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4313-2021, 2021
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Marine Isotope Stage 5e (MIS 5e; the Last Interglacial, 125 ka) represents a period in the Earth’s geologic history when sea level was higher than present. In this paper, a standardized database was produced after screening and reviewing LIG sea-level data from published papers in Southeast Asia. We identified 43 unique sea-level indicators (42 from coral reef terraces and 1 from a tidal notch) and compiled the data in the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS).
Patrick Boyden, Jennifer Weil-Accardo, Pierre Deschamps, Davide Oppo, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1633–1651, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1633-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1633-2021, 2021
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Sea levels during the last interglacial (130 to 73 ka) are seen as possible process analogs for future sea-level-rise scenarios as our world warms. To this end we catalog previously published ancient shoreline elevations and chronologies in a standardized data format for East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean region. These entries were then contributed to the greater World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines database.
Evan J. Gowan, Alessio Rovere, Deirdre D. Ryan, Sebastian Richiano, Alejandro Montes, Marta Pappalardo, and Marina L. Aguirre
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 171–197, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-171-2021, 2021
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During the last interglacial (130 to 115 ka), global sea level was higher than present. The World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS) has been created to document this. In this paper, we have compiled data for southeastern South America. There are landforms that indicate that sea level was 5 to 25 m higher than present during this time period. However, the quality of these data is hampered by limitations on elevation measurements, chronology, and geological descriptions.
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Short summary
Sea level was significantly higher during the Pliocene epoch, around 3 million years ago. The present-day elevations of shorelines that formed in the past provide a data constraint on the extent of ice sheet melt and the global sea level response under warm Pliocene conditions. In this study, we identify 10 escarpments that formed from wave-cut erosion during Pliocene times and compare their elevations with model predictions of solid Earth deformation processes to estimate past sea level.
Sea level was significantly higher during the Pliocene epoch, around 3 million years ago. The...
