J. Okuno et M. Nakada, Total volume and temporal variation of meltwater from last glacial maximuminferred from sea-level observations at Barbados and Tahiti, PALAEOGEO P, 146(1-4), 1999, pp. 283-293
It is very important to determine the temporal variation of meltwater volum
e from the last glacial maximum (LGM) for studying climate changes and for
constraining mantle rheology. Sea-level observations have been obtained at
Barbados (at the LGM and in late-glacial phase) and Tahiti (in late-glacial
phase), and suggest that two events of rapid sea-level rise existed at abo
ut 14,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present. We examine the total me
ltwater volume and temporal variation of meltwater volume by comparing sea-
level observations and predictions at Barbados and Tahiti. Comparison betwe
en observations and predictions for Barbados indicates that the total meltw
ater volume from the LGM is 103-117 m for eustatic sea-level rise. The pred
icted sea-level variations at Tahiti based on the ice model satisfying obse
rvations for Barbados are, however, inconsistent with late-glacial sea-leve
l observations at Tahiti. Thus two events of rapid sea-level rise are not s
upported from the comparison between observations and predictions at Tahiti
. More in situ observational data are required for the period from the LGM
to late-glacial phase in order to study the relationship between rapid sea-
level rise and climate change. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re
served.