The Last Interglacial (125 ka): clues to the future of a warming world and its coasts

The Last Interglacial (125 ka) was the most recent period in Earth’s history when global temperatures were approximately 1°C higher than pre-industrial levels, with polar regions experiencing a warming of 3–5°C. This warmer climate led to smaller ice sheets, higher sea levels, and significant shifts in atmospheric and oceanic patterns, including changes in temperature and seasonality. Such changes likely influenced coastal dynamics, altering prevailing winds, wave regimes, and coastal ecosystems like coral reefs. These transformations are preserved in the geological record, providing valuable insights into the potential future of our coasts in a warming world. Proper interpretation of these records can offer invaluable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to address the challenges of coastal adaptation to modern climate change.

This presentation is a contribution to the WARMCOASTS project, which has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n. 802414) and to the project “Frozen in time: ecology of paleo reefs”, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 468589501