New Study Finds Russian Sea Levels Were 7-9 Meters Higher Than Today From 8000-4000 Years Ago

The belief that modern sea levels and sea level change rates are unprecedentedly high takes another hit.

Per a new study, sea levels were ~9.5 m higher than today about 8000 years ago (White Sea, northwestern Russia), then fell to ~7 m higher than today by around 4000 years ago.

From that point in the Middle Holocene, the sea levels plummeted (by 7 m) to the present. Today’s sea levels are likely the lowest since the last glaciation in this region.

Early Holocene sea level change rates ranged from 35 to 100 mm per year. Compare this to the 1.56 mm per year change rates experienced from 1900-2018 (Frederikse et al., 2020).

Image Source: Kublitskiy et al., 2023

This study (Kublitskiy et al., 2023) also reveals the modern sea ice coverage in this region is the highest it has been (~4 mo./year duration) in the last 6000 years. There were Holocene centuries (e.g., the Roman and Medieval Warm Periods) when this region was sea-ice free year-round (~0 mo./year).