Sea levels could rise by six to nine metres over time, new study warns

Sea levels respond directly to global temperatures,
 both through the melting of ice shelves and through
 the expansion of water as it warms.

Sea surface temperatures today are strikingly similar to those during the last interglacial period, when sea levels were six to nine metres above their present height, according to research.

The findings provide compelling evidence that Greenland and Antarctica’s continental ice sheets are highly sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperatures, and raise the prospect of sea levels continuing to rise for many centuries.

Previous research had shown that sea levels rose by several metres during the last interglacial (LIG), between 129,000 to 116,000 years ago, but until now the picture of how sea temperatures had varied over the same period had remained patchy.

The latest research, based on marine sediment core records from 83 sites, concludes that sea temperatures towards the end of the LIG were comparable to those seen today.

Rob DeConto, a climate scientist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who was not involved in the research said: “This tells us that the big ice sheets are really sensitive to just a little bit of warming. That’s a really powerful message.”

Read The Guardian story - “Sea levels could rise by six to nine metres over time, new study warns.”