Abstract
THE study of the sea level record during the last glacial cycle has primarily proceeded indirectly by means of oxygen isotope measurements on foraminifera from deep-sea sediments1,2. The direct approach of dating sea level indicators stagnated during the past decade, mainly because the samples required to complete our knowledge of the past glaciations are below the present-day sea level3–7. Using the 14C ages of Acropora palmata samples collected by drilling offshore the island of Barbados, Fairbanks8 presented the first detailed chronology for the last deglaciation. This radiocarbon chronology is limited to the past 30 kyr because of the short half-life of 14C (5,730 yr); we must therefore rely on other dating methods to obtain information for the whole last glacial cycle. During the past four years 230Th–234U dating of corals by thermal-ionization mass spectrometry has been shown to be significantly more precise and accurate than the classical α counting method9–14. We have used this technique to measure U–Th ages in coral samples from the Barbados collection and from subaerially exposed outcrops (see also ref. 15). Here we present results bearing on the sea level record for the past 130,000 years; we conclude that the last deglaciation started 3,000 years earlier than previously thought and confirm that there were two surges in melt water8 at about 11 kyr and 14 kyr BP (before present).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Emiliani, C. J. Geol. 63, 538–578 (1955).
Shackleton, N. J. Nature 215, 15–17 (1967).
Macintyre, I. G., Pilkey, O. H. & Stuckenrath, R. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 89, 277–282 (1978).
Macintyre, I. G., Pilkey, O. H. & Stuckenrath, R. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 90, 692–694 (1979).
Emery, K. O. & Merrill, A. S. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 90, 689–692 (1979).
Fairbanks, R. G. & Matthews, R. K. Quat. Res. 10, 181–196 (1978).
Lighty, R. G., Macintyre, I. G. & Stuckenrath, R. Nature 276, 59–60 (1978).
Fairbanks, R. G. Nature 342, 637–642 (1989).
Chen, J. H., Edwards, R. L. & Wasserburg, G. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 80, 241–251 (1986).
Edwards, R. L. thesis, Cal. Inst. Technol. (1988).
Edwards, R. L., Chen, J. H. & Wasserburg, G. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 81, 175–192 (1987).
Edwards, R. L., Chen, J. H., Ku, T. L. & Wasserburg, G. J. Science 236, 1547–1553 (1987).
Edwards, R. L., Taylor, F. W. & Wasserburg, G. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 90, 371–381 (1988).
Li, W. X. et al. Nature 339, 534–536 (1989).
Bard, E., Hamelin, B., Fairbanks, R. G. & Zindler, A. Nature 345, 405–410 (1990).
Bard, E. et al. Nucl. Instrum. Meth. (in the press).
Chen, J. H. & Wasserburg, G. J. Chem. Geol. 70, 173 (abstr) (1988).
Ku, T. L., Ivanovitch, M. & Luo, S. Quat. Res. 33, 129–147 (1990).
Labeyrie, L. D., Duplessy, J. C. & Blanc, P. L. Nature 327, 477–482 (1987).
Shackleton, N. J. Quat. Sci. Rev. 6, 183–190 (1987).
Berger, A. L. Quat. Res. 9, 139–167 (1978).
Schubert, C., Szabo, B. J. Geologie Mijnb. 57, 325–332 (1978).
Kaufman, A. Quat. Res. 25, 55–62 (1986).
Dodge, R. E., Fairbanks, R. G., Benninger, L. K. & Maurrasse, F. Science 219, 1423–1425 (1983).
Broecker, W. S. et al. Science 159, 297–300 (1968).
Mesolella, K. J., Matthews, R. K., Broecker, W. S. & Thurber, D. L. J. Geol. 77, 250–274 (1969).
Matthews, R. K. Quat. Res. 3, 147–153 (1973).
Winograd, I. J., Szabo, B. J., Coplen, T. B. & Riggs, A. C. Science 242, 1275–1280 (1988).
Chappell, J. & Veeh, H. H. Nature 276, 602–604 (1978).
Jansen, E. & Veum, T. Nature 343, 612–616 (1990).
Imbrie, J. et al. in Milankovitch and Climate (eds Berger, A. L. et al.) 269–305 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1984).
Peltier, W. R. Science 240, 895–901 (1988).
Nakada, M. & Lambeck, K. Nature 333, 36–40 (1988).
Bloom, A. L., Broecker, W. S., Chappell, J. M. A., Matthews, R. K. & Mesolella, K. J. Quat. Res. 4, 185–205 (1974).
Moore, W. S. in Uranium Series Disequilibrium (eds Ivanovich, M. & Harmon, R. S.) 480–496 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1982).
Jouzel, J. et al. Nature 329, 403–408 (1987).
Barnola, J. M., Raynaud, D., Korotkevitch, Y. S. & Lorius, C. Nature 329, 403–408 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bard, E., Hamelin, B. & Fairbanks, R. U-Th ages obtained by mass spectrometry in corals from Barbados: sea level during the past 130,000 years. Nature 346, 456–458 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/346456a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/346456a0
This article is cited by
-
Enhanced subglacial discharge from Antarctica during meltwater pulse 1A
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Comparative phylogeography and demographic histories of five widely distributed tropical eastern Pacific fishes
Marine Biology (2023)
-
Southern hemisphere monsoonal system during superinterglacial stages: MIS5e, MIS11c and MIS31
Climate Dynamics (2023)
-
Phylogeography, population connectivity and demographic history of the Stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride (Teleostei: Labridae), in the Greater Caribbean
Coral Reefs (2022)
-
Ecotypic differentiation in populations of Brazilian coast: recognizing adaptation to temperature in Gracilariopsis tenuifrons (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)
Journal of Applied Phycology (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.