Seychelles Fossil Coral Data from the Last Interglacial Dutton, A.L.; Webster, J.M.; Zwartz, D.; Lambeck, K.; Wohlfarth, B. Dutton, A.L. Webster, J.M. Zwartz, D. Lambeck, K. Wohlfarth, B. Sea Level Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (notes,null,null,null,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,C,taxonomic identification; coral genus species) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (age,null,null,calendar kiloyear before present,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,N,U-Th geochronology) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (collection elevation,null,null,meter,null,corals and sclerosponges,raw,null,N,elevation measured with respect to mean low water springs) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (age,null,two standard deviations,calendar kiloyear before present,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,N,U-Th geochronology) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (sample identification,null,null,null,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,C,lab sample identification; asterisks represent previously published ages that have been recalculated here using different decay constants for 230Th and 234U) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (age,null,null,calendar kiloyear before present,null,corals and sclerosponges,averaged,null,N,U-Th geochronology; average ages for a coral are inverse variance-weighted means of data passing the screening criteria) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (notes,null,null,null,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,C,outcrop number) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (calcite,null,null,weight percent,null,corals and sclerosponges,raw,x-ray diffraction,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (notes,null,null,null,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,C,growth form of coral) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (International Geo Sample Number,null,null,null,null,corals and sclerosponges,null,null,C,registered at SESAR) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (age,null,two standard deviations,calendar kiloyear before present,null,corals and sclerosponges,averaged,null,N,U-Th geochronology; average ages for a coral are inverse variance-weighted means of data passing the screening criteria) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (La Digue and Curieuse Islands>LATITUDE >LONGITUDE ) In the search for a record of eustatic sea level change on glacial–interglacial timescales, the Seychelles ranks as one of the best places on the planet to study. Owing to its location with respect to the former margins of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets that wax and wane on orbital cycles, the local—or relative—sea level history is predicted to lie within a few meters of the globally averaged eustatic signal during the Last Interglacial period. We have surveyed and dated Last Interglacial fossil corals to ascertain peak sea level and hence infer maximum retreat of polar ice sheets during this time interval. We observe a pattern of gradually rising sea level in the Seychelles between ~129 and 125 thousand years ago (ka), with peak eustatic sea level attained after 125 ka at 7.6 ± 1.7 m higher than present. After accounting for thermal expansion and loss of mountain glaciers, this sea-level budget would require ~5–8 m of polar ice sheet contribution, relative to today's volume, of which only ~2 m came from the Greenland ice sheet. This result clearly identifies the Antarctic ice sheet as a significant source of melt water, most likely derived from one of the unstable, marine-based sectors in the West and/or East Antarctic ice sheet. Furthermore, the establishment of a +5.9 ± 1.7 m eustatic sea level position by 128.6 ± 0.8 ka would require that partial AIS collapse was coincident with the onset of the sea level highstand. STUDY NOTES: Samples collected ~3.5 - 8 meters above mean low water. Site elevations have a measurement precision of 0.2 m. Provided Keywords: sea level, U-Th, MIS 5e, coral, Seychelles NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Dutton, A.L. Investigator : Webster, J.M. Investigator : Zwartz, D. Investigator : Lambeck, K. Investigator : Wohlfarth, B. 2017-09-07 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/22643 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/indian_ocean/dutton2015/dutton2015-seychelles.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/indian_ocean/dutton2015/dutton2015-seychelles.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/22643 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/indian_ocean/dutton2015/dutton2015-seychelles.txt Dutton, Andrea, Jody M. Webster, Dan Zwartz, Kurt Lambeck, and Barbara Wohlfarth2015Tropical tales of polar ice: evidence of Last Interglacial polar ice sheet retreat recorded by fossil reefs of the granitic Seychelles islandsQuaternary Science Reviews107182-19610.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.025http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379114004120 START YEAR: 129000 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 123000 cal yr BP 55.73 -4.38 55.84 -4.28