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In this manuscript, we present Version 1.0 of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS), a global database of sea-level proxies and samples dated to Marine Isotope Stage 5 (~80 to 130 ka). The database includes a series of datasets compiled in the framework of a Special Issue published in this journal (https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/special_issue1055.html). This manuscript collates the individual contributions (archived in Zenodo, https://zenodo.org/communities/walis_database/) into an open-access, standalone database (Rovere et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6623428). The release of WALIS 1.0 includes complete documentation and scripts to download, analyze, and visualize the data (https://alerovere.github.io/WALIS/). The database contains 4545 sea-level proxies, 4110 dated samples and 280 other time constraints, interconnected with several tables containing accessory data and metadata. By creating a centralized database of sea level proxy data for the Last Interglacial, the WALIS database will be a valuable resource to the wider paleoclimate community to facilitate data-model integration and intercomparisons, assessments of sea level reconstructions between different studies and different regions, as well as comparisons between past sea level history and other paleoclimate proxy data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of relative sea‐level (RSL) variations and crust mobility on the development of ancient harbours in the northern Persian Gulf are poorly understood. Many unanswered questions remain with regard to the main reasons for a shift in the location of the most important ancient harbours in the northern part of the Persian Gulf coastal since 50 BC. Furthermore, some important early Islamic harbours, such as Siraf, have ancient city quarters that are today below the present sea level. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between halokinesis and RSL changes using geophysical models and multidisciplinary geoarchaeological methods at the ancient Sassanid–Islamic site of Bataneh (presently known as Najirum) located at the foothill of an active Darang salt diapir. The results reveal that after the mid‐Holocene highstand, RSL regression was not continuous. The studied facies have recorded three RSL oscillations. The oscillations are correlated with the eustatic sea‐level position. During the first lowstand, important Sassanid harbours shifted from Rishar to Apologus. The second lowstand is consistent with the transition of maritime trade from Apologus to Siraf, during the Abbasid dynasty. Uplift of the Bataneh coastal zone exposed the city to risks from flooding and fluvial debris flows. With a modification of the local watershed, runoff water originating from the salt anticlinal was controlled and used for the extraction of gypsum in evaporation ponds. The economic expansion of Siraf led to Bataneh being abandoned with a shift in trade to Kish Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reconstructed the late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) evolution of the ancient harbour of Naples, one of the largest coastal conurbations in the Mediterranean. We carried out multiproxy investigations, coupling archaeological evidence with biological indicators. Our data robustly constrain 2000 yr of non-monotonic changes in sea level, chiefly controlled by the complex volcano-tectonic processes that characterize the area. Between ~200 BC and AD ~0, a subsidence rate of more than ~1.5 mm/yr enhanced the postglacial RSL rise, while negligible or moderate land uplift < ~0.5 mm/yr triggered a RSL stabilization during the Roman period (first five centuries AD). This stabilization was followed by a post-Roman enhancement of the sea-level rise when ground motion was negative, attested by a subsidence rate of ~0.5 to ~1 mm/yr. Our analysis seems to indicate very minor impacts of this nonmonotonic RSL evolution on the activities of the ancient harbour of Naples, which peaked from the third century BC to the second century AD. After this period, the progressive silting of the harbour basin made it impossible to safely navigate within the basin, leading to the progressive decline of the harbour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of 917 relative sea-level (RSL) data-points has resulted in the first quality-controlled database constraining the Holocene sea-level histories of the western Mediterranean Sea (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Malta and Tunisia). We reviewed and standardized the geological RSL data-points using a new multi-proxy methodology based on: (1) modern taxa assemblages in Mediterranean lagoons and marshes; (2) beachrock characteristics (cement fabric and chemistry, sedimentary structures); and (3) the modern distribution of Mediterranean fixed biological indicators. These RSL data-points were coupled with the large number of archaeological RSL indicators available for the western Mediterranean. We assessed the spatial variability of RSL histories for 22 regions and compared these with the ICE-5G (VM2) GIA model. In the western Mediterranean, RSL rose continuously for the whole Holocene with a sudden slowdown at ~ 7.5 ka BP and a further deceleration during the last ~ 4.0 ka BP, after which time observed RSL changes are mainly related to variability in isostatic adjustment. The sole exception is southern Tunisia, where data show evidence of a mid-Holocene high-stand compatible with the isostatic impacts of the melting history of the remote Antarctic ice sheet. Our results indicate that late-Holocene sea-level rise was significantly slower than the current one. First estimates of GIA contribution indicate that, at least in the northwestern sector, it accounts at least for the 25–30% of the ongoing sea-level rise recorded by Mediterranean tidal gauges. Such contribution is less constrained at lower latitudes due to the lower quality of the late Holocene index points. Future applications of spatio-temporal statistical techniques are required to better quantify the gradient of the isostatic contribution and to provide improved context for the assessment of 20th century acceleration of Mediterranean sea-level rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genesis and distribution of marine notches around the microtidal Mediterranean basin has been widely debated in recent years. Here we provide new climate and geomorphological insights into the factors controlling notch formation based on the bathymetric distribution of marine notches found in Marseille Bay (NW Mediterranean). In this area, the notches exist (i) either near present Mean Sea Level (MSL); or (ii) at ∼35 cm below the MSL, but with no notch present at higher elevations on the same profile. We investigate the genesis of this unusual notch distribution using bio-geomorphological surveys, numerical modelling of nearshore hydrodynamics and palaeo-climate data. This analysis shows that the submerged notch only occurs in coastal sectors characterized by minimal or negligible hydrodynamics. Comparison with the millennial sea-level evolution shows that the present elevation of the submerged notch closely matches the sea-level stabilization that occurred during the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA, ∼1400 to ∼1290 BP). During this period, the notch formed in sheltered areas of the coast, despite minor wave mechanical action and bioerosion, because relative sea-level stability concentrated erosion in the same portion of the cliff for ∼400 years. The increased rates of sea-level rise over the last 1500 years hampered the formation of a younger notch in sheltered sectors of the coast. By contrast, changes in sea-level rise rates did not affect notch formation at exposed sites where the mechanical action of waves coupled with intense bioerosion were the major control on notch formation. These data further confirm that the preservation of a fossil submerged notch is not only ascribable to co-seismic subsidence but also to climatic factors. This has implications for palaeo-seismic assessments of the Mediterranean region. • An unusual distribution of marine notch in Marseille Bay. • New insights into the factors controlling notch formation. • Sea-level stability is a key factor for notch formation in sheltered areas. • Wave mechanical action waves and bioerosion are important in exposed sites. • Preservation of underwater notches is not only ascribable to co-seismic subsidence. • Implications for the assessment of the paleo-seismicity of the Mediterranean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A database of published and new relative sea-level (RSL) data for the past 16 ka constrains the sea-level histories of the Pacific coast of central North America (southern British Columbia to central California). Our reevaluation of the stratigraphic context and radiocarbon age of sea-level indicators from geological and archaeological investigations yields 600 sea-level index points and 241 sea-level limiting points. We subdivided the database into 12 regions based on the availability of data, tectonic setting, and distance from the former Cordilleran ice sheet. Most index (95%) and limiting points (54%) are <7 ka; older data come mainly from British Columbia and San Francisco Bay. The stratigraphic position of points was used as a first-order assessment of compaction. Formerly glaciated areas show variable RSL change; where data are present, highstands of RSL occur immediately post-deglaciation and in the mid to late Holocene. Sites at the periphery and distant to formerly glaciated areas demonstrate a continuous rise in RSL with a decreasing rate through time due to the collapse of the peripheral forebulge and the reduction in meltwater input during deglaciation. Late Holocene RSL change varies spatially from falling at 0.7 ± 0.8 mm a-1 in southern British Columbia to rising at 1.5 ± 0.3 mm a-1 in California. The different sea-level histories are an ongoing isostatic response to deglaciation of the Cordilleran and Laurentide Ice Sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's understanding of sea-level change developed through a combination of process-based physical modelling and observational data. Observational data of sea-level change derives from coral reefs in the far-field of the former ice sheets where a geographically variable relative sea-level signal is expected as a response of the earth to ocean loading. Given this variability and the limited geographical distribution of coral reefs, there is a need to explore other, non-coral based sea-level markers to further understand sea-level change and, for example, to ‘fingerprint’ melt-water. Here, we present beachrock as a coastal deposit suitable for relative sea-level (RSL) observations in the far-field. Beachrock is an intertidal deposit forming in the zone where carbonate saturated meteoric and marine water mix and p CO 2 decreases. We provide the conceptual framework for beachrock analysis and describe techniques suitable for analysing and dating the deposit. The approach is standardised by outlining the sediment characteristics in terms of RSL indicative meaning and indicative range, and is tested against published data. A study conducted on coasts of the Mediterranean Sea exemplifies the utility of beachrock for RSL reconstruction. It is shown that the precision of the reconstruction is derived from the combined uncertainty of age and tidal amplitude or tidal range. The uncertainty can be reduced to half the tidal amplitude when a deposit can be ascribed to the upper (or lower) intertidal zone. Beachrock-based data benefit from the lack of non-quantifiable error terms such as post-depositional compaction due to the instantaneous formation and high preservation potential of the deposit. This underlines the high precision of beachrock-based RSL reconstruction, which is a prime requirement for testing and extending coral-based records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The western part of the Liguria Region (NW Mediterranean Sea) has been reported as tectonically stable to slowly uplifting since the Late Pleistocene. Despite good knowledge of the coastal geomorphological features above sea level, very little information is available on the characteristics of the underwater coastlines. Direct and indirect underwater surveys carried out in the area between Vado Ligure and Finale Ligure (Western Liguria) allowed the identification of several surfaces of marine origin, in four sites, at three depth intervals: 8–13m, 17–23m and 27–30m. These values appear to be in bathymetric analogy with those reported by other authors along the Italian coastlines, in areas where the tectonic movements along the Late Quaternary are considered negligible on the basis of the elevation of the MIS 5.5 shoreline. Although few chronological constraints are possible due to the lack of dateable material, the marine morphologies identified in this study constrain their ages to the Middle and Late Quaternary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Morphostratigraphy is a useful tool to reconstruct the sequence of processes responsible for shaping the landscape. In marine and coastal areas, where landforms are only seldom directly recognizable given the difficulty to have eyewitness of sea-floor features, it is possible to correlate geomorphological data derived from indirect surveys (marine geophysics and remote sensing) with data obtained from direct ones performed on-land or by scuba divers. In this paper, remote sensing techniques and spectral images allowed high-resolution reconstruction of both morpho-topography and morpho-bathymetry of the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area (Italy). These data were used to infer the sequence of climatic phases and processes responsible for coastal and marine landscape shaping. Our data show a number of relict submerged surfaces corresponding to distinct phases of erosional/depositional processes triggered by the late-Quaternary interglacial–glacial cycles. In particular, we observed the presence of submerged marine terraces, likely formed during MIS 5–MIS 3 relative highstand phases. These geomorphic features, found at depths of ~26–30, ~34–38, and ~45–56 m, represent important evidence of past sea-level variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, 128–116 ka) is among the most studied past periods in Earth's history. The climate at that time was warmer than today, primarily due to different orbital conditions, with smaller ice sheets and higher sea-level. Field evidence for MIS 5e sea-level was reported from thousands of sites, but often paleo shorelines were measured with low-accuracy techniques and, in some cases, there are contrasting interpretations about paleo sea-level reconstructions. For this reason, large uncertainties still surround both the maximum sea-level attained as well as the pattern of sea-level change throughout MIS 5e. Such uncertainties are exacerbated by the lack of a uniform approach to measuring and interpreting the geological evidence of paleo sea-levels. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of MIS 5e field observations, and we set the basis for a standardized approach to MIS 5e paleo sea-level reconstructions, that is already successfully applied in Holocene sea-level research. Application of the standard definitions and methodologies described in this paper will enhance our ability to compare data from different research groups and different areas, in order to gain deeper insights into MIS 5e sea-level changes. Improving estimates of Last Interglacial sea-level is, in turn, a key to understanding the behavior of ice sheets in a warmer world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the rates, mechanisms, and geographic variability of relative sea-level (RSL) change following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) provides insight into the sensitivity of ice sheets to climate change, the response of the solid Earth and gravity field to ice-mass redistribution, and constrains statistical and physical models used to project future sea-level rise. To do so in a scientifically robust way requires standardized datasets that enable broad spatial comparisons that minimize bias. As part of a larger goal to develop a unified, spatially-comprehensive post-LGM global RSL database, in this special issue we provide a standardized global synthesis of regional RSL data that resulted from the first 'Geographic variability of HOLocene relative SEA level (HOLSEA)' meetings in Mt Hood, Oregon (2016) and St Lucia, South Africa (2017). The HOLSEA meetings brought together sea-level researchers to agree upon a consistent protocol to standardize, interpret, and incorporate realistic uncertainties of RSL data. This special issue provides RSL data from ten geographical regions including new databases from Atlantic Europe and the Russian Arctic and revised/expanded databases from Atlantic Canada, the British Isles, the Netherlands, the western Mediterranean, the Adriatic, Israel, Peninsular Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. In total, the database derived from this special issue includes 5634 (5290 validated) index (n = 3202) and limiting points (n = 2088) that span from ∼20,000 years ago to present. Progress in improving the standardization of sea-level databases has also been accompanied by advancements in statistical and analytical methods used to infer spatial patterns and rates of RSL change from geological data that have a spatially and temporally sparse distribution and geochronological and elevational uncertainties. This special issue marks the inception of a unified, spatially-comprehensive post-LGM global RSL database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assembled a database of Holocene relative sea-level index points (n = 213) and marine (n = 211) and terrestrial (n = 122) limiting points for the broader South and Southeast Asian region including the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka. The standardized review of published age-elevation information from corals, deltaic, estuarine and mangrove deposits, beachrocks and tidal notches, yielded a new suite of relative sea-level index and limiting points produced according to a standardized protocol. Expected spatial variability in Holocene relative sea-level change due to glacial isostatic adjustment was accounted for, by first subdividing the study area into ten geographic sub-regions from the Central Indian Ocean to the Western Tropical Pacific, and second by comparing sub-regional relative sea-level data to model predictions of glacial isostatic adjustment. Results show that some of the regionally constrained relative sea-level data are characterized by significant inconsistencies that cannot be explained by glacial isostatic adjustment. Such inconsistencies of standardized relative sea-level data become particularly obvious in areas around the Red River Delta in Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand, the northwest coast of Malaysia and the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Based on a critical evaluation of the reviewed relative sea-level indicators, we discuss possible sources of local divergence and identify regions where data are currently insufficient to constrain glacial isostatic adjustment predictions. The remaining quality-controlled and consistent relative sea-level data show that glacial isostatic adjustment and syn-/post-formational influences such as tectonic uplift, subsidence and compaction were the dominant local drivers of Holocene relative sea-level change. Collectively, the results of this review suggest that Holocene sea levels in South and Southeast Asia and surrounding regions have been controlled by a variety of global and local drivers and imply that additional index points from the Java Sea in Indonesia would be valuable to better assess the spatial variability, and to calibrate geophysical models of glacial isostatic adjustment. • A database of 546 standardized Holocene relative sea-level indicators for South and Southeast Asia is presented. • Results show that the study areas experienced RSL histories of considerable variance. • The main drivers of Holocene relative sea-level change are glacial isostatic adjustment, tectonic uplift and subsidence. • Continental levering is one dominant driver of the spatial variability in the magnitudes of relative sea-level highstands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleo relative sea-level (RSL) indicators formed during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e have been reported by a large number of studies worldwide. Despite this, three main aspects are seldom reported: (1) use of high-precision survey techniques applied to MIS 5e RSL indicators; (2) application of modern analogs to understand the indicative meaning of MIS 5e RSL indicators; (3) estimates of the effects of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) on the MIS 5e records. In this study, we show how the three points above have been addressed in a focused study on Last Interglacial outcrops on the island of Mallorca. We measured the elevation of several RSL indicators with high-accuracy differential GPS (vertical accuracies down to 0.1 m) and we established the relationship between each RSL indicator and the paleo sea level through calculation of the indicative meaning for each RSL indicator. In particular, we present a novel technique to calculate the indicative meaning of fossil beach deposits with a phase-averaged morphodynamic model (CSHORE). We show how this approach helps overcoming difficulties with the survey of the modern analogs for these indicators. Our results show that two paleo RSLs are imprinted in Mallorca at + 2.9 ± 0.8 m and + 11.3 ± 1.0 m. We then compare our field-based results with modelled paleo RSL, calculated from the predictions of the ice-earth coupled ANICE-SELEN model, using few different ice-sheet melting scenarios during MIS 5e. We conclude that indicative ranges can be derived from relatively simple morphodynamic models and that the comparison of field-derived and modelled RSL values is a good method to validate possible scenarios of MIS 5e sea-level variability, especially in absence of precise dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea-level rise is one of the most significant and perceptible consequences of global warming because it affects natural environments and coastal anthroposcapes at human timescales, particularly in sediment-starved littoral contexts. Within this framework, improvements in understanding the projection of sea-level rise require better knowledge of regional changes. Here we focus on the recent sea-level history of the Mediterranean Sea, an area characterized by a densely populated coast and where climate variability is larger, and the rate of sea-level rise higher than the global average. We produce a spatially-averaged Mediterranean relative sea-level (RSL) time series, based on 138 tide-gauge records, stretching back to the late 1800s, indicating that Mediterranean RSL has risen by ∼24 cm in the past ∼140 years. At interdecadal timescales and beyond, we find that Mediterranean relative sea-level rising rates (RSLRR) are significantly influenced by the strength of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Climate-model predictions of a weakened Atlantic overturning circulation in the coming decades, slowing and diminishing North Atlantic heat transport, has the potential to accentuate Mediterranean rising rates, with significant implications for the basin's coastal societies, infrastructure and economies. We conservatively estimate that a 0.1 °C decrease in AMO sea surface temperatures can accentuate Mediterranean RSLRR by up to −0.61 ± 0.5 mm yr−1. Future coastal management and adaptation policies must assimilate these findings into local/regional-scale impact and vulnerability assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent works (Evelpidou et al., 2012) suggest that the modern tidal notch is disappearing worldwide due sea level rise over the last century. In order to assess this hypothesis, we measured modern tidal notches in several of sites along the Mediterranean coasts. We report observations on tidal notches cut along carbonate coasts from 73 sites from Italy, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Malta and Spain, plus additional observations carried outside the Mediterranean. At each site, we measured notch width and depth, and we described the characteristics of the biological rim at the base of the notch. We correlated these parameters with wave energy, tide gauge datasets and rock lithology. Our results suggest that, considering ‘the development of tidal notches the consequence of midlittoral bioerosion’ (as done in Evelpidou et al., 2012) is a simplification that can lead to misleading results, such as stating that notches are disappearing. Important roles in notch formation can be also played by wave action, rate of karst dissolution, salt weathering and wetting and drying cycles. Of course notch formation can be augmented and favoured also by bioerosion which can, in particular cases, be the main process of notch formation and development. Our dataset shows that notches are carved by an ensemble rather than by a single process, both today and in the past, and that it is difficult, if not impossible, to disentangle them and establish which one is prevailing. We therefore show that tidal notches are still forming, challenging the hypothesis that sea level rise has drowned them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of industrial-era global change, Mediterranean coastal areas are threatened by relative sea level (RSL) rise. Shifts in the drivers of coastal dynamics are forecasted to trigger changes in the frequency of flooding of low-lying areas, with significant effects on marine-coastal environments, societies, economy and urban systems. Here, we probe coastal floods in the eastern part of the Gulf of Venice (coastal Croatia) to understand the drivers of saltwater intrusions. We reconstructed RSL rise in the north-eastern Adriatic during the Holocene based on 43 RSL index points and analyzed the evolution of coastal submersions on the Istrian Peninsula for the last 5200 years based on inputs of marine components and increases in supratidal scrubs. We produced pollen-based climate reconstructions to analyze the potential effects of air temperature and precipitation changes on submersions. We investigated the response of precipitation and temperature to mid-late Holocene summer/winter insolation forcing and insolation-induced changes in sea surface temperatures (SSTs). We found that during periods of warmer SST, coastal flooding increased markedly. This process seems to have been initiated by warmer atmospheric temperatures that led to increases in summer evaporation, counterbalancing the effects of heavy precipitation during winter. As a result, freshwater flows into coastal areas were reduced and resulted in recurrent inputs of saltwater inland. Our study suggests that present-day climate drivers (increases in SSTs and air temperatures, and decreases in precipitation) will probably favour frequent coastal flooding, a process that will be amplified by RSL rise. • Reconstruction of 5200 years of coastal flooding in the north-eastern Adriatic. • Analysis of relative sea-level rise and climate dynamics as drivers of floods. • Reconstruction of environmental impacts resulting from recurrent coastal flooding. • Past data suggest that present climate drivers will favour frequent coastal flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last century, nearly 1000 scientific papers have described the elevation, age or stratigraphic details of last interglacial shorelines (ca. 125 ka). This has resulted in thousands of sites reported globally, but with varying degrees of detail and scarce standardization between different datasets. In order to disentangle eustatic, isostatic, and other processes causing relative sea level changes in the Last Interglacial, the paleo sea level community is in need of a reliable global database of last interglacial sea-level proxies. Here, we present two tools designed to facilitate the compilation of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS). The first is a relational MySQL database, complete with a user-friendly interface of more than 100 different fields that allows the insertion of sea level data and metadata inclusive of sea level stratigraphy and multiple methods of radiometric age constraint. The second is a Wiki website designed to host the last interglacial sea-level information derived from the database and subdivided by national boundaries. The WALIS database and Wiki are being developed in the framework of the WARMCOASTS ERC Starting Grant, and will be improved and maintained in close collaboration with the PALSEA community (PAGES-INQUA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]