A group of researchers from the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA) of the University of Algarve (UALg) published an article in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, which reveals that the sea level remained «relatively» constant from 6500 years ago until the XNUMXth century.
This group, coordinated by Susana Costas, professor at UAlg, observed “that the observed rate of rise in sea level, 0.31mm/year, since approximately 6500 years ago, was relatively constant until the last years of the 1.69th century, when, according to other authors, it rose by approximately XNUMXmm/year».
For this work, which «will contribute to the knowledge of its variability in the last 7 years, in southwestern Europe», «beach and dune deposits» were used, explains UAlg.
According to the group of researchers, the current rise in sea level "of approximately 1.38mm/year may be related to recent global warming."
Through the analysis of the internal structure of a coastal sand barrier (Troia Peninsula), using geophysical methods, it was possible to obtain images of the internal organization of the sediment layers that these barriers form. The images show the morphological variability preserved in the sand barrier over time.
The sea level curve that the CIMA group and the East carolina university elaborated constitutes a significant scientific advance given its high resolution in the understanding of sea level changes for the referred period and will enable the improvement of the present isostatic model.
Finally, it will contribute to the elaboration of future works on archeology or paleoenvironmental evolution of coastal areas.
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