Science, Vol.279, No.5350, 534-537, 1998
True polar wander as a mechanism for second-order sea-level variations
Long-term wander of the rotation pole can be a significant contributor to second-order (time scales of similar to 100 million years) sea-level variations. Numerical predictions based on realistic viscoelastic Earth models and paleomagnetically constrained polar motion yield global-scale, differential sea-level trends that can be as large as similar to 200 meters. From the results presented here, it is argued that the well-documented, second-order, Cretaceous-Tertiary sea-level cycle should be reinterpreted as some combination of a eustatic and a regionally varying rotational signal.
Keywords:EARTHS ROTATION;MANTLE RHEOLOGY;SUBDUCTION;CONTINENTS;PLATE;FLUCTUATIONS;PLEISTOCENE;TOPOGRAPHY;VISCOSITY;INVERSION