World’s biggest ice sheet could cause massive sea rise – study

UK: The world’s biggest ice sheet could cause “several metres” of sea-level rise over centuries if the global temperature rises more than 2°C, according to a British study published Wednesday.

Researchers at Durham University concluded that if global greenhouse emissions remain high, the melting East Antarctica Ice Sheet (EAIS) could cause nearly half a metre of sea-level rise by 2100. Their analysis was published in the scientific journal Nature.

If emissions remain high beyond that, the EAIS could contribute around one to three metres to global sea levels by 2300, and two to five metres by 2500, they said.

However, if emissions were dramatically reduced, EAIS could contribute around two centimetres of sea level rise by 2100, according to the assessment.

This would represent far less than the ice loss expected from Greenland and West Antarctica.

“A key conclusion from our analysis is that the fate of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet remains very much in our hands,” said lead author Chris Stokes, from Durham University’s Department of Geography.

“This ice sheet is by far the largest on the planet, containing the equivalent of 52 metres of sea level and it’s really important that we do not awaken this sleeping giant.

– FRANCE 24