The WORLD ATLAS
of last interglacial shorelines
WALIS (The World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines) collects existing and new data on Last Interglacial sea-level indicators reviewed following a standardised template. The initial database was compiled thanks to a Special Issue in the journal Earth System Science Data
Datapoints included in Version 1.0 of the WALIS database (from Rovere et al., 2023)
Besides those published in the Special Issue, other works built new knowledge on WALIS data. These works were carried out by independent research groups who used the WALIS database as template, expanded it or inserted data directly using the WALIS interface.
- F. Antonioli, L. Ferranti, M. Agate, A. Ascione, C. Cerrone, V. De Santis, G. Deiana, A. Fontana, S. Furlani, G. Leoni, V. Lo Presti, L. Guerrieri, G. Mastronuzzi, C. Monaco, P. Orru, P. Pieruccini, A. Sulli (2025). The last interglacial transgression in Italy: the breath of the Italian coasts documented by 461 sites. Quaternary Science Reviews, 360, 109376.
- Briant, R. M., Bates, M. R., Robertson, J., Schwenninger, J. L., & Whittaker, J. E. (2024). Indicative meanings of geological sea-level indicators in the Solent region and Sussex coast (south coast of England) and implications for uplift rates. Journal of the Geological Society, 181(4), jgs2023-120.
- Pasquetti, F., Bini, M., Giaccio, B., Ratti, A., Vacchi, M., & Zanchetta, G. (2021). Chronology of the Mediterranean sea‐level highstand during the Last Interglacial: a critical review of the U/Th‐dated deposits. Journal of Quaternary Science, 36(7), 1174-1189.
- Simms, A. R., Ishiwa, T., Hodgson, D. A., Tamura, T., & DeWitt, R. (2024). Late Pleistocene sea-level constraints across Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 341, 108879.
- Simms, A. R., Ishiwa, T., Hodgson, D. A., Tamura, T., & DeWitt, R. (2024). Late Pleistocene sea-level constraints across Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 341, 108879.
We maintain a GitHub page with all WALIS tools. See below!
Download all papers in the ESSD Special Issue in a single file (WARNING - Large file - 400 Mb)
Summary of the number of columns in each table and the number of records (rows) per table in WALIS 1.0. Photo by Alessio Rovere (2019). Location: Boca Cortalein, Curaçao. In the picture: geologist Ciro Cerrone measuring the elevation of a Pleistocene beach deposit using real-time kinematic GNSS. From Rovere et al., 2023.