a sneak peak from the early Holocene
To sum up what may very well be the most interesting 10,000 years in history in just one word – the Holocene. This also happens to be the period of time we are currently living in, and one where water has literally sculpted our planet.
The start of the Holocene, some 10 to 12,000 years before present, was a period marking the retreat of glaciers from the last ice age. During this ice age a significant amount of water was tied up as ice, making sea levels some 100meters+ lower than today. As the glaciers retreated since that time, sea levels have risen rather consistently, with a few extended periods of stabilization. These stable periods have etched their mark in stone, quite literally, and we can observe remnants of ancient shorelines underwater today.
In this photo, recently captured while conducting an exploratory project funded by National Geographic, we see a remnant shoreline at a depth of 60meters/185feet:
