Sea level in Roman time in the Central Mediterranean and implications for recent change

Abstract
Instrumental records indicate that ocean volumes during the 20th century have increased so as to raise eustatic sea level by
f1–2 mm/year and the few available records suggest that this is higher than for the previous century. Geological data indicate
that ocean volumes have increased since the main phase of deglaciation about 7000 years ago but whether this continued into
the recent past remains unclear. Yet, this is important for establishing whether the recent rise is associated with global warming
or is part of a longer duration non-anthropogenic signal. Here, we present results for sea-level change in the central
Mediterranean basin for the Roman Period using new archaeological evidence. These data provide a precise measure of local
sea level of 1.35F0.07 m at 2000 years ago. Part of this change is the result of ongoing glacio-hydro isostatic adjustment of
the crust subsequent to the last deglaciation. When corrected for this, using geologically constrained model predictions, the
change in eustatic sea level since the Roman Period is 0.13F0.09 m. A comparison with tide-gauge records from nearby
locations and with geologically constrained model predictions of the glacio-isostatic contributions establishes that the onset of
modern sea-level rise occurred in recent time at f100F53 years before present.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

References
[1] K. Lambeck, J. Chappell, Sea level change through the last
glacial cycle, Science 292 (2001) 679– 686.
[2] G.A. Milne, J. Mitrovica, J.L. Davis, Near-field hydro-isostasy:
the implementation of a revised sea level equation, Geophys. J.
Int. 139 (1999) 464– 482.
[3] J.A. Church, J.M. Gregor, P. Huybrechts, M. Kuhn, K.
Lambeck, M.T. Nhuan, D. Qin, P.L. Woodworth, in: J.T.
Houghton, et al. (Ed.), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, Third Assessment Report, Chapter 11, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 2001, pp. 641–693.
[4] P.L. Woodworth, High waters at Liverpool since 1768: the
UK’s longest sea level record, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26 (1999)
1589–1592.
[5] N.C. Flemming, Archaeological evidence for eustatic changes
of sea level and earth movements in the Western Mediterranean
in the last 2000 years, Spec. Pap.-Geol. Soc. Am. 109
(1969) 1– 125.
[6] M. Caputo, L. Pieri, Eustatic variation in the last 2000 years in
the Mediterranean, J. Geophys. Res. 81 (1976) 5787– 5790.
[7] P.A. Pirazzoli, Sea level variations in the northwest Mediterranean
during Roman times, Science 194 (1976) 519– 521.
[8] Columella, De Re Rustica, XVII.
[9] G. Schmiedt, Il livello antico del mar Tirreno, Testimonianze
da resti archeologici, E. Olschki, Firenze, 323 pp.
[10] Plinius, Naturalis Historia, IX.
[11] Varro, De Re Rustica III.
[12] L. Giacobini, B. Marchesini, L. Rustico, L’itticoltura nell’antichita`,
ENEL eds. Roma, 1997, 275 pp.
[13] E. Fouache, S. Faivre, J.J. Dufaure, V. Kovacic, F. Tassaux,
New observations on the evolution of the Croatian shoreline
between Porea˜ and Zadar over the past 2000 years, Z. Geomorphol.
N.F., Suppl.bd 122 (2000) 33– 46.
[14] N.C. Flemming, C.O. Webb, Tectonic and eustatic coastal
changes during the last 10,000 years derived from archaeological
data, Tectonic and eustatic coastal changes during the
last 10,000 years derived from archaeological data, Z. Geomorphol.
N.F. 62 (1986) 1 –29.
[15] G. Leonim, G. Dai Pra, Variazioni di livello del mare nel tardo
Olocene lungo la costa del Lazio in base ad indicatori geoarcheologici.
(ENEA Tech. Rep. RT/AMB/97/8) Rome, 1997,
127 pp.
[16] Istituto Idrografico della Marina, Tidal Data Base (2002).
[17] www.metoffice.com.
[18] E. Guidoboni, I terremoti prima del Mille in Italia e nell’area
Mediterranea. Storia, Archeologia, Sismologia, Ed. Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica, SGA, Bologna, 1989, 65 pp.
[19] E. Boschi, E. et al., Catalogo dei Forti Terremoti in Italia dal
461 a.C. al 1997 d.C., Eds. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica,
1995, 644 pp.
[20] E. Guidoboni, Catalogue of Ancient Earthquakes in the Mediterranean
Area Up to the 10th Century, Istituto Nazionale di
Geofisica, Rome, 1994, 504 pp.
[21] M. Gignoux, Les formation marines pliocenes et Quateraires
de l’Italie du Sud et de la Sicilie, Ann. Univ. Lyon 36 (1913).
[22] P.J. Hearty, G. Dai Pra, Aminostratigraphy of quaternary marine
deposits in the Lazio Region of central Italy, Z. Geomorphol.
62 (1986) 131– 140.
[23] F. Antonioli, S. Silenzi, E. Vittori, C. Villani, C., Sea level
changes and tectonic stability: precise measurements in 3
coastlines of Italy considered stable during last 125 ky, Phys.
Chem. Earth 24 (1999) 337–342.
[24] M.F. Nisi, F. Antonioli, G. Dai Pra, G. Leoni, S. Silenzi,
Coastal deformation between the Versilia and the Garigliano
plains (Italy) derived from the elevations of the Last Interglacial
Highstand data, J. Quat. Sci. 18 (2003) 13– 27.
[25] G. Giordano, et al., The sedimentation along the Roman coast
between middle and upper Pleistocene: the interplay of eustatism,
tectonics and volcanism. New data and review, Il Quat.
16 (2003) 115– 121.
[26] C. Carrara, M. Cremaschi, G. Dai Pra, Oscillazioni del livello
marino, depositi e morfogenesi continentali nelle isole
pontine (Italia Centrale), Geogr. Fis. Din. Quat. 17 (1994)
139– 153.
[27] K. Lambeck, E. Bard, Sea-level change along the French
Mediterranean coast for the past 30000 years, Earth Planet.
Sci. Lett. 175 (2000) 203–222.
[28] K. Lambeck, F. Antonioli, A. Purcell, S. Silenzi. Sea level
change along the Italian coast for the past 10,000 years, Quat.
Sci. Rev. 23 (2004) 1567– 1598.
[29] K. Lambeck, Sea-level change and shore-line evolution in
Aegean Greece since Upper Palaeolithic time, Antiquity 70
(1996) 588– 611.
[30] D. Sivan, K. Lambeck, E. Galili, A. Raban, Holocene sealevel
changes along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, based
on archaeological observations and numerical model, Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 167 (2001) 101–117.
[31] J.X. Mitrovica, J.L. Davis, Present-day post-glacial sea level
change far from the Late Pleistocene ice sheets: implications
for recent analysis of tide gauge records, Geophys. Res. Lett.
22 (1995) 2529–2532.
[32] K. Lambeck, A. Purcell, P. Johnston, M. Nakada,Y. Yokoyama,
Water-load definition in the glacio-hydro-isostatic sea-level
equation, Quat. Sci. Rev. 22 (2003) 309–318.
[33] M. Nakada, K. Lambeck, The melting history of the late
Pleistocene Antarctic ice sheet, Nature 333 (1998) 36– 40.
[34] K. Lambeck, Sea level change from mid-Holocene to recent
time: an Australian example with global implications, American
Geophysical Union Geodynamics Series 29 (2001)
33– 50.
[35] J.O. Stone, et al., Holocene deglaciation of Marie Byrd Land,
West Antarctica, Science 299 (2003) 99– 102.
[36] www.pol.ac.uk/psmsl.
[37] J.A. Church, N.J. White, R. Coleman, K. Lambeck, J.X.
Mitrovica, Estimates of the regional distribution of sea-level
rise over the 1950 to 2000 period, J. Climate 17 (2004)
2609– 2625.
[38] M. Tsimplis, S.A. Josey, Forcing of the Mediterranean Sea by
atmospheric oscillations over the North Atlantic, Geophys.
Res. Lett. 28 (2001) 803– 806.
[39] M.N. Tsimplis, M. Rixen, Sea level in the Mediterranean Sea:
the contribution of temperature and salinity changes, Geophys.
Res. Lett. 29 (2002) 51.1– 51.4.