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When did sea level approach its near-modern level after the last glacial period?
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Holocene Epoch
The stratigraphic chart of geologic time.
Following the last glacial period, the global sea level rose significantly due to the melting of large ice sheets. This process, known as the Flandrian Transgression, resulted in the sea level reaching a near-modern position by the mid-Holocene, approximately 5,000 years ago.12
While the rise was continuous, it was characterized by various fluctuations and pauses as the Earth's crust responded to the removal of glacial ice loads. Evidence from outside regions of tectonic subsidence suggests that the worldwide eustatic sea level rise reached its maximum sometime between 5,500 and 2,500 years ago, with many researchers identifying the date as approximately 2,000 years ago.1