Abstract
Solving the sea-level equation for a spherically symmetric Earth we study the relative sea-level curves in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of Clark's zones and we explore their sensitivity to the time-history of Late-Pleis- tocene ice aggregates. Since the Mediterranean is an intermediate field region with respect to the former ice sheets, glacio- and hydro-isostasy both contribute to sea-level variations throughout the Holocene. In the bulk of the basin, subsidence of the sea floor results in a monotonous sea-level rise, whereas along continental margins water loading produces the effect of «continental levering», which locally originates marked highstands followed by a sea-level fall. To describe such peculiar pattern of relative sea-level in this and other mid-latitude closed basins we introduce a new Clark's zone (namely, Clark's zone VII). Using a suite of publicly available ice sheet chronologies, we identify for the first time a distinct sensitivity of predictions to the Antarctic ice sheet. In par- ticular, we show that the history of mid to Late Holocene sea-level variations along the coasts of SE Tunisia may mainly reflect the melting of Antarctica, by a consequence of a mutual cancellation of the effects from the North- ern Hemisphere ice-sheets at this specific site. Ice models incorporating a delayed melting of Antarctica may ac- count for the observations across the Mediterranean, but fail to reproduce the SE Tunisia highstand.
Highlights
The Mediterranean sea-level variations result from complex geodynamical, geological, and metereological processes that span a wide range of time-scales
Using the ice sheet chronology ICE3G (Tushingham and Peltier, 1991) and assuming a moderate viscosity increase across the mantle, Mitrovica and Milne have shown that the bulk of the Mediterranean and of other mid-latitude basins is presently subject to a sea-level rise of glacio-isostatic origin
This is motivated by the preliminary results of Stocchi et al (2005b), who first noticed the sensitivity of Relative Sea-Level (RSL) predictions for SE Tunisia and Gulf of Sirte to the time-history of remote ice sheets and of Antarctica
Summary
The Mediterranean sea-level variations result from complex geodynamical, geological, and metereological processes that span a wide range of time-scales. Paolo Stocchi and Giorgio Spada climate change, new geological investigations have been recently complemented by geomorphological and archaeological evidence on a regional scale (Lambeck et al, 2004a) The latter have allowed us to better constrain the age of the paleo-sea-level indicators available in the Tyrrhenian and to address the influence of tectonic motions upon the observed uplift. The availability of highresolution solutions of the sea-level equation (e.g., Lambeck, 1993, 1995) allows us to scrutinize details of the shapes of the Clark’s zones; in particular, the recent high-resolution approach of Mitrovica and Milne (2002) has shed new light on the mechanisms that determine their shape on a global scale. This is motivated by the preliminary results of Stocchi et al (2005b), who first noticed the sensitivity of RSL predictions for SE Tunisia and Gulf of Sirte to the time-history of remote ice sheets and of Antarctica
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