Sea level changes in the Mediterranean since historical times: An overview

Abstract

Since the Mediterranean region is affected by the dynamics of the African and Eurasian plates, and includes active volcanic areas, the contribution of the recent vertical crustal movements to the observed relative sea level changes, require an estimation from i) available modern geodetic data, ii) geomorphological and biological indicators and iii) the height distribution of the Tyrrhenian level MIS 5.5. The latter provides the long term rate of deformations (125 kyr BP) and defines the overall stability of a region, while the middle term rates (10 kyr BP) can be obtained from geomorphological and biological indicators. Recent results indicate for the stable areas of Italy an average sea level change at -135 centimetres in 2000 years, while in Israel sea level was ± its present elevation at around 2000 years ago.