Over the course of the project, we combined new geological data, innovative analyses, and state-of-the-art modelling to produce the most complete reconstruction of Last Interglacial sea-level change for northwest Europe to date. We made extensive use of offshore geophysical datasets acquired for the wind-energy sector, allowing us to map buried landscapes and former coastlines across the North Sea. These data were critical for identifying optimal coring locations and for reconstructing environmental change over the last ~140,000 years.
Five sediment cores up to 40 m long were collected from the Dutch sector of the North Sea. These cores captured the transition from cold, terrestrial conditions to widespread peat formation and subsequent flooding driven by Last Interglacial sea-level rise. Each core underwent high-resolution scanning, sedimentary analysis, and microfossil and geochemical investigation, providing robust indicators of both the magnitude and rates of relative sea-level rise. These data formed the foundation for several scientific advances, including new chronological constraints using luminescence dating and multiproxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.
Parallel to the geological analyses, we developed new ice-sheet and Earth-deformation models for the Eurasian Ice Sheet and its forebulge response. These improved the accuracy of relative sea-level corrections and provided a clearer separation of global ice-volume change from local land-level adjustments. The project also contributed to international datasets and modelling frameworks, including high-resolution sea-level databases and updated glacial isostatic adjustment models.
Key outputs included:
1. A new map of the penultimate glaciation margin in the North Sea;
2. The first temporally constrained reconstruction of Last Interglacial sea-level rise in northwest Europe;
3. New assessments of ice-sheet sensitivity and melt contributions during the Last Interglacial;
4. Improved methods for combining geophysical data, sediment cores, and chronological techniques;
5. Open-access datasets and model code supporting wider community use.
Collectively, the work significantly strengthened the empirical basis for understanding ice-sheet behaviour during warm periods and provided critical constraints needed for long-term sea-level projections.
