Sea levels: change and variability during warm intervals

The challenges associated with understanding precisely how climate affects sea level been regular features of Progress Reports since the 1990s (e.g. Woodroffe,1993; 1994, Woodroffe & Nash, 1995; Long, 2000; 2001; 2003; Edwards, 2005). intervals like the Holocene are generally associated with high sea levels, but precisely how high these levels were, how quickly they were attained and volumes or sources of water were involved remain important foci of research. issues are of critical importance given current concerns about climate change, the fact that oceanic thermal inertia seems to mean future rises are inevitable(Wigley, 2005). This review examines developments in our understanding of, postglacial and recent changes in sea level, with particular reference to information provided by sea level highstands. These are compared with new data a series of studies concerned with changes in the Greenland and Antarctic ice. The picture of variability emerging poses particular challenges for models to predict future trajectories of change.