Eustatic sea level

The eustatic sea level (from Greek εὖ eû, "good" and στάσις stásis, "standing") is the distance from the center of Earth to the sea surface. An increase of the eustatic sea level can be generated by decreasing glaciation, increasing spreading rates of the mid-ocean ridges or increasing the number of mid-oceanic ridges. Conversely, increasing glaciation, decreasing spreading rates or fewer mid-ocean ridges can lead to a fall in the eustatic sea level.

Changes in the eustatic sea level lead to changes in accommodation and therefore affect the deposition of sediments in marine environments.

Note that reports from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) do not use the term “eustatic” any more, but instead adopt the term “barystatic” to define global mean sea-level changes resulting from a change in the mass of the ocean.

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