LATE QUATERNARY SEA LEVEL: A DISCUSSION

Recent literature and new evidence on the position of sea level during the late Quaternary are reviewed critically. Some evidence suggests a glacial interstadial and stand of sea level at about − 8 fathoms 30,000 years ago. Sea level then dropped to perhaps −65 fathoms. The rapid rise of sea level and warming of climate covered a period of time from 15,000 to 7,000 B.P. (Before Present) and consisted of a period of climatic and sea-level fluctuations rather than a single abrupt warming as proposed for 11,000 B.P.