Reconstruction of sea-level changes during the Holocene in the south western part of Indian Ocean

The palaeoenvironmental, sedimentological and geochronological studies (U-Th dating, alpha spectrometry) of drill cores through modern reefs of Mauritius, La Reunion and Mayotte islands allows the reconstruction of sea-level changes during the Holocene period (0-10,000 years BP). This terminal phase of the last deglaciation is characterized successively by a rapid sea level rise (0.54 cm.y(-1)) between 10,000 and 7,250 years BP corresponding to the last input of polar waters, followed by a slower rise (0.17 cm.y(-1)) beginning around 7,000 years BP. The stabilization of sea level to its present level occurs around 2,500 years BP.