eustasy

eu·sta·sy  (yst-s)

n. pl. eu·sta·sies

A uniform worldwide change in sea level.

---

[From eustatic, of eustasy, from German eustatisch : eu- + stat(o)- + -isch, adj. suff.]

---

eu·static (-sttk) adj.

---

eustasy  (yst-s) A uniform worldwide change in sea level caused especially by fluctuations in the amount of water taken up by continental and polar icecaps, or by a change in the capacity of ocean basins. eustatic (y-sttk)

eustasy The medium gray shading shows the modern-day coastlines of eastern North America and the Gulf of Mexico. The dark gray shading shows the same coastlines as they may have appeared during the warm climate interval of the Pliocene Epoch. The light gray shading shows the same coastlines as they may have appeared during the most recent ice age when much of the world's ocean water was locked up in continental ice sheets.