THE prevailing view that sea level only changes gradually over tens of thousands of years as ice sheets wax and wane is being challenged, with potentially profound implications for how oceans will respond to climate change. The most accurate dating of ancient coral reefs to date has revealed that oceans rose and fell by as much as 30 metres in just a few thousand years.
Many corals are good indicators of past sea levels because they only grow in shallow water. If the sea rises, new coral grows on top of the old, forming terraces that track the change in…
