Seminar

Future sea-level rise poses a hazard to coastal populations, economic activity, infrastructure, and ecosystems around the world. Projections of future sea-level rise rely on an accurate understanding of the mechanisms driving the complex spatio-temporal evolution of sea level. Here we draw on an example from the greater Caribbean and US Atlantic and Canadian coasts to provide an overview of Holocene reconstructions of relative sea-level change and how demonstrate how they may be used to decipher local, regional, and global-scale drivers that act over a variety of temporal scales. We also describe recent efforts to develop a global synthesis of Holocene sea-level data to provide a data-driven reconstruction of global mean sea level over the past 4 ka and reveal its relationship to temperature variations and contributions from polar ice sheets. Finally, we illustrate the ways in which current methodologies and data sources can constrain future projections, and how accurate projections can motivate the development of new sea-level research questions across relevant timescales.