Quaternary climate and sea level change
The most recent part of geological history, the Quaternary, is characterised by large-scale climate and associated sea level changes. It is a period of rapid environmental change during which, especially in the last thousands of years, the role of humans has become more important.
Understanding the effects of climate and sea level change on landscape formation is essential, particularly to understand which effects can be attributed to human impact, and which ones can be attributed to natural processes. The role of the latter is often underestimated.
To further understand the natural and human impacts on earth surface processes, we have to travel back in time to discover the role of natural forcing mechanisms. Our research covers the last hundred thousands of years when rapid climate change and sea level rise took place under mostly natural conditions. By studying this particular time-period, we gain a better understanding of the relative contribution and functioning of natural processes on climate and sea level changes.
Our research focuses on the transition of the Pleistocene to the Holocene era, where temperature changes of more than 10 degrees and a sea-level rise of more than 100 meters occurred. We study this period on a decadal to annual resolution, and look at events such as the changes from tundra to forest vegetation in NW Europe and the drowning of the North Sea.
A historical perspective on climate effects in the Netherlands
Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ researchers Dr Wim Hoek and Prof Esther Jansma were asked by the estate ‘Den Treek-Henschoten’ and construction company ‘Buijtenhuis Nijkerk’ to help make sense of a discovery they made during digging works at the estate.
Total range of sea level rise greater than expected
Researchers from Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, NIOZ and KNMI think there is a possibility of regional sea level rises of 1.8 metres or more due to the decreasing mass of the Antarctic ice cap. Their results were published on 4 December 2017 in the open access journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.