Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Rapid sea-level rise and reef back-stepping at the close of the last interglacial highstand

Abstract

Widespread evidence of a +4–6-m sea-level highstand during the last interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5e) has led to warnings that modern ice sheets will deteriorate owing to global warming and initiate a rise of similar magnitude by ad 2100 (ref. 1). The rate of this projected rise is based on ice-sheet melting simulations and downplays discoveries of more rapid ice loss2,3. Knowing the rate at which sea level reached its highstand during the last interglacial period is fundamental in assessing if such rapid ice-loss processes could lead to future catastrophic sea-level rise. The best direct record of sea level during this highstand comes from well-dated fossil reefs in stable areas4,5,6. However, this record lacks both reef-crest development up to the full highstand elevation, as inferred7 from widespread intertidal indicators at +6 m, and a detailed chronology, owing to the difficulty of replicating U-series ages on submillennial timescales8. Here we present a complete reef-crest sequence for the last interglacial highstand and its U-series chronology from the stable northeast Yucatán peninsula, Mexico. We find that reef development during the highstand was punctuated by reef-crest demise at +3 m and back-stepping to +6 m. The abrupt demise of the lower-reef crest, but continuous accretion between the lower-lagoonal unit and the upper-reef crest, allows us to infer that this back-stepping occurred on an ecological timescale and was triggered by a 2–3-m jump in sea level. Using strictly reliable 230Th ages of corals from the upper-reef crest, and improved stratigraphic screening of coral ages from other stable sites, we constrain this jump to have occurred 121 kyr ago and conclude that it supports an episode of ice-sheet instability during the terminal phase of the last interglacial period.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

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

Figure 1: Stratigraphic sections and reconstruction of reef development at Xcaret during the last interglacial.
Figure 2: Isotopic reliability of 230 Th coral ages from Xcaret.
Figure 3: Relative sea-level reconstructions for the last interglacial highstand.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Overpeck, J. T. et al. Paleoclimatic evidence for future ice-sheet instability and rapid sea-level rise. Science 311, 1747–1750 (2006)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Thomas, R. et al. Accelerated sea-level rise from West Antarctica. Science 306, 255–258 (2004)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bamber, J. L., Alley, R. B. & Joughin, I. Rapid response of modern day ice sheets to external forcing. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 1–13 (2007)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chen, J. H., Curran, H. A., White, B. & Wasserburg, G. J. Precise chronology of the last interglacial period: 234U-230Th data from fossil coral reefs in the Bahamas. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 103, 82–97 (1991)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stirling, C., Esat, T., McCulloch, M. & Lambeck, K. High-precision U-series dating of corals from Western Australia and implications for the timing and duration of the last interglacial. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 135, 115–130 (1995)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Stirling, C., Esat, T., Lambeck, K. & McCulloch, M. Timing and duration of the last interglacial: evidence for a restricted interval of widespread coral reef growth. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 160, 745–762 (1998)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Neumann, A. C. & Hearty, P. J. Rapid sea-level changes at the close of the last interglacial (substage 5e) recorded in Bahamian island geology. Geology 24, 775–778 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Scholz, D. & Mangini, A. How precise are U-series coral ages? Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 71, 1935–1948 (2007)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Fairbanks, R. G. A 17,000-year long glacio-eustatic sea level record: influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature 342, 637–642 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Blanchon, P. & Shaw, J. Reef drowning during the last deglaciation: evidence for catastrophic sea-level rise and ice-sheet collapse. Geology 23, 4–8 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bard, E. et al. Deglacial sea-level record from Tahiti corals and the timing of global meltwater discharge. Nature 382, 241–244 (1996)

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Blanchon, P., Jones, B. & Ford, D. C. Discovery of a submerged relic reef and shoreline off Grand Cayman: further support for an early Holocene jump in sea level. Sedim. Geol. 147, 253–270 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Esat, T., McCulloch, M., Chappell, J., Pillans, B. & Omura, A. Rapid fluctuations in sea level recorded at Huon Peninsula during the penultimate deglaciation. Science 283, 197–201 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Stein, M. et al. TIMS U-series dating and stable isotopes of the last interglacial event in Papua New Guinea. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57, 2541–2554 (1993)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Bruggemann, J. H. et al. Stratigraphy, palaeoenvironments and model for the deposition of the Abdur Reef Limestone: context for an important archaeological site from the last interglacial on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 203, 179–206 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Thompson, W. G. & Goldstein, S. L. Open-system coral ages reveal persistent suborbital sea-level cycles. Science 308, 401–404 (2005)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Rohling, E. J. et al. High rates of sea-level rise during the last interglacial period. Nature Geosci. 1, 38–42 (2008)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wilson, M., Curran, H. & White, B. Paleontological evidence of a brief global sea-level event during the last interglacial. Lethaia 31, 241–250 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Blanchon, P. & Perry, C. T. Taphonomic differentiation of Acropora palmata facies in cores from Campeche Bank Reefs, Gulf of Mexico. Sedimentology 51, 53–76 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Aronson, R. B., Macintyre, I. G. & Precht, W. F. Event preservation in lagoonal reef systems. Geology 33, 717–720 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Zúñiga, F. R., Reyes, M. A. & Valdés, C. A general overview of the catalog of recent seismicity compiled by the Mexican Seismological Survey. Geofís. Int. 39, 161–170 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Marquez-Azua, B., Cabral-Cano, E., Correa-Mora, F. & DeMets, C. A model for Mexican neotectonics based on nationwide GPS measurements, 1993–2001. Geofís. Int. 43, 319–330 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Szabo, B. J., Ward, W. C., Weidie, A. E. & Brady, M. J. Age and magnitude of the late Pleistocene sea-level rise on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula. Geology 6, 398–406 (1978)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Potter, E.-K. & Lambeck, K. Reconciliation of sea-level observations in the Western North Atlantic during the last glacial cycle. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 217, 171–181 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Delanghe, D., Bard, E. & Hamelin, B. New TIMS constraints on the uranium-238 and uranium-234 in seawaters from the main ocean basins and the Mediterranean Sea. Mar. Chem. 80, 79–93 (2002)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Steneck, R., Macintyre, I. & Reid, R. A unique algal ridge system in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas. Coral Reefs 16, 29–37 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Edinger, E. N., Burr, G. S., Pandolfi, J. M. & Ortiz, J. C. Age accuracy and resolution of Quaternary corals used as proxies for sea level. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 253, 37–49 (2007)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Peltier, W. R. & Fairbanks, R. G. Global glacial ice volume and Last Glacial Maximum duration from an extended Barbados sea level record. Quat. Sci. Rev. 25, 3322–3337 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. et al. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318, 1737–1742 (2007)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Fietzke, J., Liebetrau, V., Eisenhauer, A. & Dullo, C. Determination of uranium isotope ratios by multi-static MIC-ICP-MS: method and implementation for precise U- and Th-series isotope measurements. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 20, 395–401 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Gonzalez-Herrera, R., Sanchez-y-Pinto, I. & Gamboa-Vargas, J. Groundwater-flow modeling in the Yucatan karstic aquifer, Mexico. Hydrogeol. J. 10, 539–552 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Henderson, G. M. Seawater (234U/238U) during the last 800 thousand years. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 199, 97–110 (2002)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank M. Sanchez, E. Rios and R. Raigoza for providing park access and hospitality; E. Jordan-Dahlgren for original descriptions of the aquarium trench; G. Jordan-Garza and I. Pino for field assistance; A. Kolevica and K. Fischer von Mollard for help with the 230Th measurements; and C. Neumann, P. Hearty, C. Holmden, D. Hopley, A. Curran and W. C. Ward for discussions. Funding was provided by DGAPA grant IN218799.

Author Contributions P.B. initiated the study, collected and analysed the field data and wrote the manuscript. A.E., J.F. and V.L. performed the U-series and X-ray diffraction analyses, and A.E. discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Blanchon.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Table 1, Supplementary Notes, Supplementary Figures 1-4 with Legends, a Supplementary Discussion and Supplementary References. (PDF 2377 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Blanchon, P., Eisenhauer, A., Fietzke, J. et al. Rapid sea-level rise and reef back-stepping at the close of the last interglacial highstand. Nature 458, 881–884 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07933

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07933

This article is cited by

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.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing