Episodic, rapid sea-level rises on the central Mediterranean shelves after the Last Glacial Maximum: A review

Abstract

Submerged palaeo-shorelines on the central Mediterranean shelves, identified from high-resolution seismic profiles and bathymetric data, mark distinct water depths at which sea level stationed for a period of time during the relative sea-level rise that followed the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The shorelines are commonly represented by palaeo-coastal cliffs and barrier-beaches that lie today at water depths between −100m and −70m, and between −65m and −40m, in most places irrespective of the different tectonic contexts, even in the presence of significant vertical rates. These morphological features are thought to have been drowned during melt-water pulses 1A and 1B, which occurred between 15 and 10ka. The evidence presented here confirms drowned shorelines documented elsewhere at similar water depths and shows that melt-water pulses have punctuated the post-glacial relative sea-level rise with rates up to 60mm/yr. for a few centuries. The identification of morphological features related to melt-water pulses in the central Mediterranean Sea has important implications to improve our knowledge on episodes of rapid glacio-eustatic sea-level rise. This issue is critical to be able to forecast future sea-level rises in the Mediterranean, which is characterized by densely populated coasts and important coastal infrastructures.