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Intercontinental Correlation of Late Pleistocene Sea Levels

Abstract

EUSTATIC variations in sea level are assumed to be world wide and simultaneous. During the Pleistocene, sea level fluctuated in response to the formation and melting of continental glaciers, and interglacial shorelines higher than the present sea level are found in several places. Coastal areas which have been stable since the development of the Pleistocene shorelines have shoreline features at similar elevations. Conversely, the establishment of shorelines at similar elevations in different areas implies stability. Because of the effects of sedimentation, erosion, water loading and tectonic adjustment, no coast is completely stable. The effects of water loading2 on the elevation of the interglacial shorelines (and modern) along a particular coast, however, are usually similar so that the relative elevations are not seriously disturbed.

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HOYT, J. Intercontinental Correlation of Late Pleistocene Sea Levels. Nature 215, 612–614 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/215612a0

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