Last Interglacial sea-level data points from Northwest Europe

Abstract

Abstract. Abundant numbers of sites and studies exist in NW Europe that document the geographically and geomorphologically diverse coastal record from the Last Interglacial (Eemian, Ipswichian, Marine Isotope Stage 5e). This paper summarises a database of 146 known Last Interglacial sea-level data points from in and around the North Sea (35 entries in the Netherlands, 10 Belgium, 23 in Germany, 17 in Denmark, 9 in Britain) and the English Channel (24 entries for the British and 25 for the French side, 3 on the Channel Isles) believed to be a representative and fairly complete inventory and assessment from ∼80 published sites. The geographic distribution (∼1500 km SW–NE) across the near field of the Scandinavian and British ice sheets and the attention paid to relative and numeric age control are assets of the NW European database. The research history of Last Interglacial coastal environments and sea level for this area is long, methodically diverse and spread through regional literature in several languages. Our review and database compilation effort drew from the original regional literature and paid particular attention to distinguishing between sea-level index points (SLIPs) and marine and terrestrial limiting points. We also incorporated an updated quantification of background rates of basin subsidence for the central and eastern North Sea region, utilising revised mapping of the base Quaternary, to correct for significant basin subsidence in this depocentre. As a result of subsidence, lagoonal and estuarine Last Interglacial shorelines of the Netherlands and the German Bight are preserved below the surface. In contrast, Last Interglacial shorelines along the English Channel are encountered above modern sea level. This paper describes the dominant sea-level indicators from the region compliant with the WALIS database structure and referenced to original data sources (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6478094, Cohen et al., 2021). The sea-level proxies are mostly obtained from locations with good lithostratigraphic, morphostratigraphic and biostratigraphical constraints. Most continental European sites have chronostratigraphic age control, notably through regional pollen association zones with duration estimates. In all regions, many SLIPs and limiting points have further independent age control from luminescence, uranium series, amino acid racemisation and electron spin resonance dating techniques. Main foreseen usage of this database for the near-field region of the European ice sheets is in glacial isostatic adjustment modelling and fingerprinting Last Interglacial ice sheet melt.

Last interglacial in western Europe: 20 years of multidisciplinary research on the Eemian (MIS 5e) calcareous tufa sequence at Caours (Somme basin, France) – a review

“…At Caours, the geochemical data, which indicate the presence of the thermal optimum in U5, support its attribution to the E4 zone of the Eemian Stage dated at around 123 000 years ago in northwestern Europe (Turner 2000; Cohen et al . 2021); a conclusion in perfect agreement with the averaged U‐series TIMS ages obtained on the stromatolites associated with this part of the sequence (Table S1). Moreover, Corylus is already present in the peat of U9 (Table S2), as in zone E3b of the Eemian Stage palynological zonation, where it appears for the first time.…”

Constraining the contribution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to Last Interglacial sea level

“…Our results are compiled into a dataset of LIG RSL features (e.g., marine sediments, beach facies, and dune sands) from across NW Europe ( Table 1 ; Supplementary Data), following established protocols ( 33 ). We limit the dataset to data derived from absolute-dating approaches comparable to our new age constraints (i.e., luminescence and uranium-series) but recognize that this necessitates an omission of data from age-inferred approaches [e.g., pollen zone associations ( 34 )]. The dataset includes MIS 5e beach deposits in NW France (mean weighted age, 118 ± 7 ka, 1σ) that constrain the RSL highstand there to 4.6 ± 1.2 m (1σ).…”

Late MIS5a in the southern North Sea: new chronostratigraphic insights from the Brown Bank Formation

“…As the BB Fm described in this location was deposited in a (restricted) marine setting, sea level must have been high enough to maintain marine conditions, which can provide an independent age indication. The water depth of the location is currently 39 m below MSL and the average Quaternary tectonic subsidence at the study location is approximately −0.085 m ka −1 (Cohen et al, 2022). This results in an average background subsidence, without adjusting for glacio‐isostacy, of about 6.4 m since the end of MIS5 (75 ka).…”