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M. Vacchi et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 155 (2016) 172–197 173
4. Predictions of RSL................................ ............................ 181
5. Results .................................... ............................ 181
5.1. Central Spain (#1) ............................ ............................ 182
5.2. Northern Spain (#2) ........................... ............................ 183
5.3. Central France (#3) ........................... ............................ 183
5.4. Western Ligurian Sea (#4) ........................ ............................ 184
5.5. Eastern Ligurian Sea (#5) ......................... ............................ 184
5.6. Northern Corsica and Pianosa (#6) .................... ............................ 185
5.7. Southern Corsica and northern Sardinia (#7) ................ ............................ 185
5.8. Southwestern Sardinia (#8)........................ ............................ 185
5.9. North-central Latium (#9) ........................ ............................ 186
5.10. Gulf of Gaeta (#10) ........................... ............................ 186
5.11. Salerno Bay (#11)............................ ............................ 187
5.12. Northwestern Sicily (#12) ........................ ............................ 187
5.13. Mid-eastern Sicily (#13)......................... ............................ 187
5.14. Southern Sicily and Malta (#14) ..................... ............................ 187
5.15. Southern Tunisia (#15) ......................... ............................ 188
5.16. Venice and Friuli lagoons (#16) ..................... ............................ 188
5.17. Northeastern Adriatic Sea (#17) ..................... ............................ 188
5.18. Northwestern Adriatic Sea (#18) ..................... ............................ 189
5.19. Mid-eastern Adriatic Sea (#19)...................... ............................ 189
5.20. Mid-western Adriatic Sea (#20) ..................... ............................ 189
5.21. Northern Apulia (#21) ......................... ............................ 190
5.22. Southern Apulia (#22) ......................... ............................ 190
6. Discussion ................................... ............................ 190
6.1. Standardization of the database and its applicability ............. ............................ 190
6.2. Predicted vs observed RSL changes in the western Mediterranean....... ............................ 191
6.3. RSL variability along the western Mediterranean basin............ ............................ 192
7. Conclusions .................................. ............................ 193
Acknowledgments .................................. ............................ 194
References ..................................... ............................ 194

1. Introduction (e.g., Lambeck and Bard, 2000; Vött, 2007; Lambeck et al., 2004a;
Antonioli et al., 2009; Vacchi et al., 2014). These studies used a variety
Relative sea-level (RSL) changes since the Last Glacial Maximum of observational sea-level data from different geomorphic settings and
(LGM, ~30 to ~20 ka BP) primarily document the transfer of ice mass archeological sites to produce RSL data-points. However, a standardized
from the continents to the oceans during deglaciation (e.g. Peltier and methodology for the production of sea-level index and limiting points
Fairbanks, 2006; Deschamps et al., 2012). Approximately 50 million km 3 (cf. Gehrels and Long (2007); Hijma et al. (2015)) is presently lacking
of ice have melted from land-based ice sheets, raising RSL in regions dis- for the Mediterranean region.
tant from the major glaciation centers (far-field sites) by ~135 m (e.g. In this paper, we reconsidered and reanalyzed the published sea-level
Bard et al., 1996, 2010; Lambeck and Purcell, 2005; Lambeck et al., data for the western Mediterranean seaboard following the protocol de-
2014). During the Holocene (the last ~12 ka BP), empirical studies and scribed by the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) projects 61,
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models show that the rate of ice- 200, 495 and 588 (e.g., Preuss, 1979; van de Plassche, 1982; Gehrels
mass transfer decreased significantly at ~7 ka BP, when the Earth and Long, 2007; Shennan et al., 2015).
entered into a period of near RSL stability, after which time the ocean Here we present: i) a standardized methodology to produce sea-
volume changed by just a few meters (e.g. Mitrovica and Milne, 2002; level index and limiting points from published data deriving from the
Lambeck et al., 2014). Mediterranean and ii) a comprehensive database of index and limiting
On a regional scale, the interplay of glacio- and hydro-isostatic pro- points from 14 ka BP to present, for 22 areas in the western Mediterra-
cesses plays a significant role in defining the Holocene RSL changes. nean (Fig. 1).
However, other factors have influenced RSL histories as well. Vertical After summarizing the previous studies and reporting the unre-
tectonic displacements often appear to be continuous and gradual solved issues regarding relative sea level in the western Mediterra-
over time, but frequently consist of large movements, for instance dur- nean (Section 2), we outline the reasons for grouping sea-level
ing earthquakes of great magnitude (e.g. Pirazzoli et al., 1994; Nelson data into 22 regions (Section 2.2). We then explain our methodology
et al., 1996; Dura et al., 2014) or volcanic activity (e.g., Morhange to produce sea-level index and limiting points (Section 3) and how
et al., 2006). Local factors include modifications of the tidal regime we predicted the RSL models using the open source numerical code
(e.g., Hall et al., 2013) and sediment consolidation due to the accumula- SELEN (Section 4). In Section 5,wereconstructtheRSL historiesof
tion of overlying material and land reclamation (e.g., Törnqvist et al., the 22 regions using quality controlled sea-level index and limiting
2008; Marriner et al., 2012a). points. We then discuss the applicability of our multiproxy approach
Databases of RSL have been developed to better understand these in the Mediterranean (Section 6.1), we compare and contrast the re-
forcing mechanisms of sea-level change, to identify regional variations constructed RSL histories with the predicted RSL models
and to constrain geophysical models of glacial isostasy (e.g., Engelhart (Section 6.2)and, finally, we assess the spatial variability of late Ho-
and Horton, 2012; Shennan et al., 2012; Khan et al., 2015). locene RSL changes in the western Mediterranean providing new in-
For the Mediterranean, regional compilations of sea-level data have sights about the influence of the isostatic contribution on the current
been produced for both the eastern and the western Mediterranean sea-level rising rates (6.3).