Marine Isotope Stage 5 or MIS 5 is a

marine isotope stage Marine isotope stages (MIS), marine oxygen-isotope stages, or oxygen isotope stages (OIS), are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting changes in temperature derived from data f ...

in the

geologic temperature record The geologic temperature record are changes in Earth's environment as determined from geologic evidence on multi-million to billion (109) year time scales. The study of past temperatures provides an important paleoenvironmental insight because ...

, between 130,000 and 80,000 years ago. Sub-stage MIS 5e, called the

Eemian The Eemian (also called the last interglacial, Sangamonian Stage, Ipswichian, Mikulin, Kaydaky, penultimate,NOAA - Penultimate Interglacial Period http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/global-warming/penultimate-interglacial-period Valdivia or Riss-Würm) wa ...

or Ipswichian, covers the last major

interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...

period before the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

, which extends to the present day. Interglacial periods which occurred during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

are investigated to better understand present and future

climate variability Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more ...

. Thus, the present interglacial, the Holocene, is compared with MIS 5 or the interglacials of

Marine Isotope Stage 11 Marine Isotope Stage 11 or MIS 11 is a Marine Isotope Stage in the geologic temperature record, covering the interglacial period between 424,000 and 374,000 years ago. It corresponds to the Hoxnian Stage in Britain. Interglacial periods which occ ...

Substages

MIS 5, is divided into substages, divided alphabetically or with a numeric system for referring to "horizons" (events rather than periods), with MIS 5.5 representing the peak point of MIS 5e, and 5.51, 5.52 etc. representing the peaks and troughs of the record at a still more detailed level.

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, called the Eemian (Ipswichian in Britain) around 124,000–119,000 years ago, was the last interglacial period before the present (Holocene), and compared global mean surface temperatures were at least 2 °C warmer. Mean sea level was 4–6 m higher than at present, following reductions of the Greenland ice sheet. Fossil reef proxies indicate sea level fluctuations of up to 10 m around the mean. Based on the data obtained from stable oxygen isotopes of planktonic foraminifera and age constraints from corals, estimates suggest average rates of sea-level rise of 1.6 m per century. The findings are important to understand current climate change, because global mean temperatures during MIS-5e were similar to the projected climate change today. A 2015 study by

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cr ...

experts concluded that based on MIS 5e data, sea level rise could accelerate in the coming decades, with a doubling time of 10, 20 or 40 years. The study abstract explains: A 2018 study based on cave formations in the Mediterranean Sea found sea level rise of up to 6 meters, noting "The results suggest that if the pre-industrial temperature will be surpassed by 1.5 to 2°C, sea level will respond and rise 2 to 6 meters (7 to 20 feet) above present sea level." Evidence from

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

suggest powerful storm activity at the time, strong enough for wave-transported megaboulders, lowland chevron storm ridges, and wave runup deposits.

Other sub-stages

The Eemian was followed by a sharp decline in temperature around 116,000 years ago and the warmer MIS 5c,from around 100,000 years ago, probably the period known as the Chelford Interstadial in Britain. Cooling from around 90,000 years ago was followed by the warmer MIS 5a, around 80,000 years ago, called in Britain the Brimpton Interstadial.

References

{{reflist, 2 MIS 05 Glaciology Paleoclimatology Paleogeography Paleoceanography Interglacials

Substages

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e

Other sub-stages

See also

References