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Published Online June 23, 2005
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1111575

Reports

Submitted on February 28, 2005
Accepted on June 16, 2005

Ice Sheet and Solid Earth Influences on Far-Field Sea-Level Histories

Sophie E. Bassett 1, Glenn A. Milne 1*, Jerry X. Mitrovica 2, Peter U. Clark 3

1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
2 Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7, Canada.
3 Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Glenn A. Milne , E-mail: g.a.milne{at}durham.ac.uk

Previous predictions of sea-level change subsequent to the last glacial maximum show significant, systematic discrepancies with observations at Tahiti, Huon Peninsula and Sunda Shelf during Lateglacial time (~14-9 cal. kyr BP). We demonstrate that a model of glacial isostatic adjustment characterized by both a high-viscosity lower mantle (4 x 1022 Pa s) and a significant contribution from the Antarctic ice sheet to meltwater pulse IA (~15 m eustatic equivalent) resolves these discrepancies. This result supports arguments that an early and rapid Antarctic deglaciation contributed to a sequence of climatic events that ended the most recent glacial period of the current ice age.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)