Coral reef response to Quaternary sea-level and environmental changes: State of the science

There is considerable uncertainty about future sea-level projections due to the current poor understanding of the vulnerability and sensitivity of ice sheets to global warming. Fossil coral reefs represent a unique archive of sea-level and associated environmental changes that extend far beyond instrumental records. Here, recent advances in this field are summarized, focusing on periods of Earth history typified by rapid sea-level rise and short-term climate excursions. Sea-level and reef response records from the Last Deglaciation, and periods characterized by higher sea-level stands and short-term and low-magnitude sea-level oscillations such as the Mid to Late Holocene and the Last Interglacial are synthesised. Special emphasis is given to understanding how coral reefs have responded to these changes in terms of reef development, architecture and composition. Finally, seven major challenges and future research directions are identified.