ABSTRACT
This chapter forms the subject matters about to geological, geomorphological and biological responses to climatic change, and reflection in the landscapes of the mid-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere over the past 20 millennia. It examines the components of sea-level change in the Atlantic basin region and considers the effects of fluctuating sea levels on the coastlines of Europe and North America at the close of the last cold stage and during the present interglacial. The chapter outlines the major vegetational and pedological changes that have occurred over the closing stages of the last glacial and during the present interglacial cycle. Consequently, to reconstruct the pattern of fluvial response to climatic change at the end of the last cold stage and interglacial over large areas of the northern temperate zone. One feature of many fluvial records is the clear relationship between high flood frequency and periods of rapid climate change.
