自然杂志

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冰与海的千年对话:揭秘全新世海平面变化的奥秘

安成邦   

  1. 复旦大学 中国历史地理研究所,上海 200433
  • 收稿日期:2025-04-10 出版日期:2025-10-21 发布日期:2025-10-21
  • 通讯作者: 安成邦,研究方向:环境考古与历史地理。
  • 基金资助:
     国家自然科学基金项目(42220104001)

Dialogues acrossing millennia between ice and sea: Decoding Holocene sea-level changes 

 AN Chengbang    

  1. Institute of Chinese Historical Geography, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  • Received:2025-04-10 Online:2025-10-21 Published:2025-10-21

摘要: 科学家通过研究北海海底的泥炭层,揭开了1万多年前海平面剧烈波动的秘密。这些泥炭就像地球的“历史录像带”,记录着冰盖融化如何改变世界。通过放射性碳定年、X射线荧光扫描与硅藻化石分析的“三重解码”技术,研究人员发现冰盖消融是海平面变化的主因:北美巨型冰盖(覆盖加拿大)融化导致海平面上升20 m以上;南极冰盖也贡献了8 m,证 明它比想象中更脆弱。约10 300年前,海平面每年上涨9 mm(比现在快3倍)。8 300年前,北美冰湖突然溃坝,34天内向海洋注入的淡水让海平面涨高半米,引发持续200年的全球降温。冰盖融化后,被压数万年的地壳像弹簧一样回弹,导致北欧陆地每年抬升9 mm。北海“多格兰陆桥”的生态崩溃与人类迁徙案例,为预测现代三角洲湿地的命运提供了参照模板。

关键词:  , 全新世海平面变化;冰川均衡调整;泥炭层分析;冰盖消融

Abstract: Through systematic analysis of North Sea peat layers — termed Earth's geological archives — scientists decoded the mechanisms behind drastic sea-level fluctuations over 10 000 years ago. Utilizing an integrated methodology combining radiocarbon dating, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning, and diatom fossil analysis, the study reveals continental ice sheets as dominant drivers: The Laurentide ice sheet (covering Canada) contributed over 20 meters to sea-level rise through meltwater discharge, while Antarctic ice sheet unexpectedly added 8 meters, demonstrating their underestimated vulnerability. During peak melting phases around 10 300 BP, sea levels surged at 9 mm per year — triple the current rate. A catastrophic drainage of North America's glacial lake Agassiz 8 300 years ago released freshwater equivalent to a 0.5-meter global sea-level rise within 34 days, triggering a 200-year climatic cooling event. Concurrently, post-glacial isostatic rebound caused Scandinavia's crust to uplift at 9 mm per year. The ecological collapse of Doggerland's wetland ecosystems and subsequent human migrations, evidenced by submerged archaeological remains, provide a crucial analogue for predicting the fate of modern deltaic regions facing accelerated sea-level rise.

Key words:  , Holocene sea-level change, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), peat layer analysis, ice sheet deglaciation