Doggerland under the North Sea was formerly a huge land bridge that connected the United Kingdom to the rest of Europe. Now, millennia after it sunk below the waves, it is giving up its secrets. About 7,000 years ago, melting ice caps caused sea levels to rise and engulf this land bridge. It then morphed into the shallow basin of the North Sea we know today. An international team of scientists have explored the geologic data around this little-understood area. Their goal is to determine just how and why these trends changed so dramatically.
Doggerland had huge coastal marshlands which would’ve acted as great hunting grounds in the ice age – the original Eden. When the climate heated back up, encroaching seas and depositing ocean sediments buried these marshes, pressing them into the crust. Geological records show a rapid increase in sea levels – an estimated 125 feet – between 11,000 and 3,000 years ago. This increase occurred in two main waves.
The initial stage of this phase of sea level rise occurred 10,300 years ago, largely as a result of an invasion of fresh meltwater. This second phase started roughly 8,300 years ago. This wrinkled texture resulted from the melting ice and additional water draining from lakes that formed on top of the melting glaciers. Throughout these intervals, RSLR ramped up dramatically, reaching its maximum rate of more than 0.4 inches per year. That’s an almost incomprehensible 40 feet over the duration of a 100-year period!
In order to better understand the range of possible past sea levels, an international team of scientists set out to do this study. The Doggerland archives are key to understanding how our planet Earth has reacted—and will react—to changes at both a human and geologic time scale. By studying the geological data of this region, researchers hope to help fill in the gaps of modern data collected by today’s instruments.
"By drawing on detailed data for the North Sea region, we can now better unravel the complex interaction between ice sheets, climate, and sea level," stated Marc Hijma, a geologist at Deltares in the Netherlands.
This research provides a clearer understanding of how Earth has changed in the past. It serves as an important mechanism for anticipating movement and change in subsequent years. As today's ice sheets react to a warming climate, the study of Doggerland's past sea levels offers valuable lessons for scientists and policymakers alike.
"Of course, the consequences of sea level rise are now far greater due to the growth in population and the current presence of infrastructure, cities and economic activity in areas that will be vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the future," remarked Sarah Bradley, a researcher at the University of Sheffield in the U.K.
This study underscores the significance of historical geological data in understanding future environmental challenges. As global populations grow and urban development spreads along coastlines, such knowledge is growing in importance.
