The last interglacial sea-level record of Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) Deirdre D. Ryan1*, Alastair J.H. Clement2, Nathan R. Jankowski3,4, Paolo Stocchi5 1MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany 5 2School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand 3 Centre for Archeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia 4Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia 10 5NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Coastal Systems Department, and Utrecht University, PO Box 59 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands Correspondence to: Deirdre D. Ryan (
[email protected]) Abstract: This paper presents the current state-of-knowledge of the Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) last interglacial (MIS 5 sensu lato) sea-level record compiled within the framework of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS) 15 database. Seventy-seven total relative sea-level (RSL) indicators (direct, marine-, and terrestrial-limiting points), commonly in association with marine terraces, were identified from over 120 studies reviewed. Extensive coastal deformation around New Zealand has prompted research focused on active tectonics, which requires less precision than sea-level reconstruction. The range of last interglacial paleo-shoreline elevations are resulted in a significant range of elevation measurements on both the North Island (276.8 ± 10.0 to -94.2 ± 10.6 m amsl) and South Island (173.1165.8 ± 2.0 to -70.0 ± 10.3 m amsl) and 20 prompted the use of RSL indicators tohave been used to estimate rates of vertical land movement; however, indicators in many instances lackk adequate description and age constraint for high-quality RSL indicators.