Late Quaternary sea-level changes in north-western Europe: A synthesis

Abstract

The north-west European shelf and coasts, which include rising, subsiding and semi-stable areas, can be regarded as an immense “sea-level laboratory” where the details can be studied and checked. In response to the Late Weichselian Glaciation, Fennoscandia has gone up by 830 m in the centre and the North Sea basin has subsided by 170 m. This indicates rapid movements of a low-viscosity asthenosphere. Sea level oscillations are recorded both in areas of uplift and of subsidence. The close age correlation between these oscillations indicates a eustatic background. The amplitude can be checked against the South Scandinavian shoreline diagram system. The fluctuations are all of low amplitude, with no regression during the last 8000 years exceeding 1 m. The South Scandinavian records are now extended to the present and integrated with palaeomagnetic and palaeotemperature analyses. The eustatic curve calculated fits very well with data available for north-western Europe. There are few examples of non-eustatic local meteorological, hydrological and oceanographical effects. The eustatic curve established is believed to give a reliable eustatic record for the entire north-west European (north-east Atlantic) region. By comparison with other eustatic curves the palaeogeoidal or geoidal-eustatic changes can be recorded.