A Post-Cromerian Rise in Sea Level,

Abstract

The intensified cooling in the northern hemisphere during the Elsterian-Saalian ice ages (isotopic stages 22-6) resulted in a reduction of the Antarctic ice sheet by 10-15 x 106 km3, equal to a rise in sea level by about 40 m. This rise in sea level changed the hydrography of the Black Sea during the late Pleistocene warmer times, caused anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediterranean during the corresponding warming-up phases, and enhanced water transport of less saline water from the Pacific into the Arctic Ocean (the present sill depth of the Bering Strait is about 50 m). The increased supply of less saline water strengthened the halocline in the Arctic Ocean, increasing the sea ice there and, by higher albedo, its cooling effect on the adjacent continents.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADP007331

Entities

People

  • Eric Olausson

Organizations

  • University of Alaska Fairbanks

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arctic Ocean
  • Black Sea
  • Climate Change
  • Geographic Regions
  • Geography
  • Glaciers
  • Ice
  • Northern Hemisphere
  • Oceans
  • Polar Regions
  • Salt Water
  • Sea Ice
  • Sea Level
  • Sea Water
  • Water

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Oceanography.
  • Polar and Arctic Studies