If warming exceeds 2°C, Antarctica’s melting ice sheets could raise seas 20 metres in coming centuries

We know that our planet has experienced warmer periods in the past, during the Pliocene geological epoch around three million years ago. 

During the Pliocene, up to one third of Antarctica’s
ice sheet melted, causing sea-level rise of 20 metres.

Our research, published today, shows that up to one third of Antarctica’s ice sheet melted during this period, causing sea levels to rise by as much as 20 metres above present levels in coming centuries. 

We were able to measure past changes in sea level by drilling cores at a site in New Zealand, known as the Whanganui Basin, which contains shallow marine sediments of arguably the highest resolution in the world.

Using a new method we developed to predict the water level from the size of sand particle moved by waves, we constructed a record of global sea-level change with significantly more precision than previously possible. 

Read the story from The Conversation - “If warming exceeds 2°C, Antarctica’s melting ice sheets could raise seas 20 metres in coming centuries.”

24 Magazine Covers About Climate Change

We know that the clock is ticking on climate change, yet the sheer volume of news can make it tough for even the most conscientious citizen to comprehend the full scale of the crisis. 

So for Earth Day, we created a different way to read about climate change: an all-cover issue of The Washington Post Magazine, with each cover illustrating an aspect of climate change that The Post wrote about in the past year or so. 

Scroll down to see the stories — and the covers we created to highlight them.

Check out this story from The Washington Post - “24 Magazine Covers About Climate Change.”