How do melting glaciers cause continental shelves to be flooded?

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continental shelf The broad, gentle pitch of the continental shelf gives way to the relatively steep continental slope. The more gradual transition to the abyssal plain is a sediment-filled region called the continental rise. The continental shelf, slope, and rise are collectively called the continental margin.

Continental shelves are flooded as a direct result of global eustatic sea-level changes driven by climatic fluctuations. During glacial periods, vast quantities of water are sequestered on land in the form of ice sheets and glaciers, which causes global sea levels to drop and exposes the continental shelves as dry land.123

As the climate warms and these glaciers retreat, the stored water is released back into the ocean basins. This influx of glacial meltwater causes the global sea level to rise, eventually submerging the previously exposed lowlands of the continental shelves. This process of flooding is a fundamental aspect of the geologic history of continental margins, transforming former coastal plains and river valleys into submerged features such as estuaries and low channels.1234