New research shows that the West Antarctic ice sheet shrank dramatically and rapidly about 8,000 years ago. This has been demonstrated by examining an ice core approximately 600 meters long. What modern risks does he warn scientists about?

According to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, part of the Antarctic ice sheet has thinned by 450 meters in just 200 years. It is higher than the Empire State Building.

Accurate data on such rapid and abundant melting of ice in Antarctica has been obtained for the first time. Scientists knew that the ice cap was larger at the end of the last ice age than it is today. But exactly when the melting occurred and how large it was, experts knew little.

Glaciologists from the British University of Cambridge have corrected this omission. It turns out that in ancient times after the end of the last ice age, the melting of the ice sheet occurred very quickly. Scientists reflect the situation on today’s climate problems and are very concerned about the possibility of glaciers melting at the same rate today or in the near future.

This could lead to catastrophic consequences and cause a global rise in sea level: it could reach 5 meters. This threatens devastating floods in coastal cities around the world. Source