Thomas A. L. auteur aut IRD Henderson G. M. auteur aut IRD Deschamps Pierre auteur aut IRD Yokoyama Y. auteur aut IRD Mason A. J. auteur aut IRD Bard E. auteur aut IRD Hamelin Bruno auteur aut IRD Durand N. auteur aut IRD Camoin Gilbert auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The timing of sea-level change provides important constraints on the mechanisms driving Earth's climate between glacial and interglacial states. Fossil corals constrain the timing of past sea level by their suitability for dating and their growth position close to sea level. The coral-derived age for the last deglaciation is consistent with climate change forced by Northern Hemisphere summer insolation (NHI), but the timing of the penultimate deglaciation is more controversial. We found, by means of uranium/thorium dating of fossil corals, that sea level during the penultimate deglaciation had risen to similar to 85 meters below the present sea level by 137,000 years ago, and that it fluctuated on a millennial time scale during deglaciation. This indicates that the penultimate deglaciation occurred earlier with respect to NHI than the last deglacial, beginning when NHI was at a minimum. specialized 032 021 324 5931 1186-1189 2009 0036-8075 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010046091 10.1126/science.1168754 0036-8075 [F B010046091] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010046091 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2009/06/010046091.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2009-07-08 2017-08-23 fdi:010046091 fre