ABSTRACT
Relative changes of sea and dry land levels cause transgression and regression of the sea and, consequently, the filling or drying of the ground surface. An important scientific question is whether the Quaternary emergence-submergence history is the same for the Arctic Ocean as for the Global Ocean during some stages, the Arctic Ocean developed separately. Work has been done to summarize the data and ideas of the Global Ocean level changes during the Pleistocene and data and assumptions of the Arctic Ocean level changes during that time. A guide as to whether a former sea level terrace represents simply a high eustatic sea level or a tectonic uplift can be derived from the knowledge that much of the Antarctic ice sheet has remained quasi-stable during the Quaternary, with the possible exception of the West Antarctic ice sheet that is grounded below sea level. If that portion of the ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise about 5 m.
