Database of biological and geomorphological sea-level markers from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present (Hibbet et al., 2018, Scientific Data)

We compile sea-levels data from 194 studies from 40 locations using different biological and geomorphological archives (e.g., corals, mangroves, sediment cores) that have been radiometrically dated using either radiocarbon, or U-series techniques (or both) into a single, internally consistent database (~2,600 data points).

The new database is global in scope, and represents a first major step in establishing, and maintaining, a central, internally consistent archive of sea-level indicators for the interval from the last glacial maximum to the present (the last 25,000 years). This is the most recent interval of widespread destabilisation and disintegration of major continental ice sheets. The compilation therefore provides a suite of data beyond the range of modern variability with which to robustly test model-based simulations of polar ice-sheet collapse and extreme sea-level change.

We have ensured that all fields are fully documented, possess quantified uncertainties, and include all accompanying metadata. We also provide updated age estimates, recalculated where necessary using updated decay constants or calibration datasets, and sea-level reconstructions. Our harmonisation of the data, and inclusion of all metadata, ensures that disparate datasets may be compared, and that the data have continued utility into the future because everything is included to allow later re-evaluations if needed. The inclusion of all ‘raw’ data, and all available metadata furthermore allows each sea-level indicator to be viewed with its proper, fully expressed, uncertainties and geological context.