FALL OF RELATIVE SEA LEVELS DURING THE LGM AND THE ROLE OF THE LOWER MANTLE LAYERS IN MANIFESTATION OF THE EFFECT OF HYDROISOSTASY

Abstract

The structure and functioning of coastal geosystems depend on the interaction of exogenous and endogenous factors. The results of such interaction can dramatically affect both the ecological situation and economic activity. Hydroisostasis, as one of the consequences of the change of sea level during glacial-to-interglacial changes and the resulting change in the solid earth’s surface loading, affects the stress-strain state of the interior part of the earth. Until recently, the study of the role of hydroisostasis for the Russian coastal regions was not sufficiently involved in research activity. In this work, special attention is paid to two aspects that cause and accompany hydroisostasis: a decrease in the level of the World Ocean by about 120 meters during the last glacial maximum about 20 thousand years ago and involvement of layers of the lower mantle in its accompanying deformations and displacements.