A standardized database of Marine Isotope Stage 5e sea-level proxies in southern Africa (Angola, Namibia and South Africa)
2021
Abstract. Evidence for sea-level change during and around Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)
5e (ca. 125 ka) in southern Africa derives from a wide variety of geomorphic
and sedimentological sea-level indicators, supported in the past 2 decades
by absolute chronological control, particularly on littoral deposits, some
of which have a quantifiable relationship to former sea level. In addition
to these proxies, data provided by both terrestrial (dune sediments and
archaeological remains) and marine (lagoonal and nearshore littoral
sediments) limiting points provide broad constraints on sea level. Here, we
review publications describing such data points. Using the framework of the
World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines, we insert in a standardized
database ( https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4459297 , Cooper and Green, 2020) all the
elements available to assess former palaeo-relative sea level (palaeo-RSL) and the
chronological constraints associated with them (including uncertainties).
Overall, we reviewed 71 studies, from which we extracted 39 sea-level
indicators and 26 limiting points. As far as age attribution is concerned,
early analysis of molluscs and whole-rock beachrock samples using U series
allowed dating of several sea-level indicators during the 1980s, but the more
widespread application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating
since 2004 has yielded many more (and more accurate) sea-level indicators
from several sites. This has helped resolve the nature and timing of MIS 5e
shorelines and has the potential to further elucidate the apparent presence
of two or more sea-level peaks at several South African sites during this
interval. The standardized sea-level database presented in this paper is the
first of its kind for this region. Future research should be directed to
improve the stratigraphic description of last interglacial shorelines and to
obtain better dating, high-accuracy elevation measurements with better
palaeo-RSL interpretation.
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