Sea level since the Last Glacial Maximum from the Atlantic coast of Africa
Constraining sea level at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is spatially restricted to a few locations. Here, we reconstruct relative sea-level (RSL) changes along the Atlantic coast of Africa for the last ~30 ka BP using 347 quality-controlled sea-level datapoints. Data from the continental shelves of Guinea Conakry and Cameroon indicate a progressive lowering of RSL during the LGM from -99.4 ± 5.2 m to -104.0 ± 3.2 m between ~26.7 ka and ~19.1 ka BP. From ~15 ka to ~7.5 ka BP, RSL shows phases of major accelerations up to ~25 mm a<sup>-1</sup> and a significant RSL deceleration by ~8 ka BP. In the mid to late Holocene, data indicate the emergence of a sea-level highstand, which varied in magnitude (0.8 ± 0.8 m to 4.0 ± 2.4 m above present mean sea level) and timing (5.0 ± 1.0 to 1.7 ± 1.0 ka BP). We further identified misfits between glacial isostatic adjustment models and the highstand, suggesting the interplay of different ice-sheet meltwater contributions and hydro-isostatic processes along the wide region of Atlantic Africa are not fully resolved.
Authors
- Giorgio Spada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7615-4709)
- Daniele Melini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5383-2375)
- Matteo Vacchi
- Edward J. Anthony (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1032-4821)
- Timothy A. Shaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9007-637X)
- Niamh Cahill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3086-550X)
- Tanghua Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0501-0155)
- Benjamin P. Horton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9245-3768)
Institutions
- University of Pisa (IT)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- National University of Ireland, Maynooth (IE)
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (IT)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IT)
- Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (FR)
- Earth Observatory of Singapore (SG)
- National Research Council (IT)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-02-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56721-0
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.20
Funders
- Past Global Changes
- Ministry of Education - Singapore
- Ministry of Education, India
- Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique
- Earth Observatory of Singapore