Unravelling climatic influences on late holocene sea-level variability

Abstract

Predictions of future coastal change in response to 'Greenhouse Warming' have been based on a historical, secular trend in sea-level rise, with an estimated total rise of up to 0.88 m, and an average estimate of 0.4 ± 0.1 m over the next 100 years (Houghton et al., 2001). However, our knowledge of past decadal to centennial sea-level change and its influence on coastal evolution over the last few hundred to 1000 years is scant. This chapter outlines the climatic and non-climatic factors influencing relative sea-level (RSL) change, and discusses the advancements in Late Holocene studies that are enabling a multi-decadal to centennial examination of coastal evolution and the influence of sea-l..