Due to man-made climate change, sea levels are rising. A discovery by researchers could indicate a rapid increase.
Bremen – The rise in global sea levels is one of the consequences of climate change, says the German Climate Consortium. Based on this, a research team recently made a discovery while studying octopods that could have devastating consequences.
Researchers make shocking discovery while studying octopods
As a result of man-made climate change, the world's oceans are warming up and expanding. At the same time, the glaciers and the large ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting. Like that German Climate Consortium writes, the melting of ice surfaces has increased significantly in the last 20 years. An IPCC special report said that mass loss of land ice in Antarctica tripled from 2007 to 2016 compared to previous years.
A team of researchers led by Sally Lau from James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, has now discovered that the Antarctic ice sheet could be melting much faster than previously thought. The team discovered that a waterway in Antarctica that until recently connected two distinct octopus populations is now completely covered in ice. For them, this is an indication of a possible catastrophe. Other researchers expect a dramatic scenario in the North Sea.
If the ice sheet collapses, coastal cities face catastrophe
Like Sally Lau's team in the Science magazine warn, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) last collapsed almost 125,000 years ago. At this time the last so-called warm period occurred. The now frozen waterway is an indication to researchers that something similar is about to happen. Much of western Antarctica was largely ice-free as early as 125,000 years ago.
If a scenario arises in which the Antarctic ice sheet begins to melt, sea levels could rise by up to five meters. In particular Coastal cities like New York would be doomed by rapid sea level rise. The team and other researchers are currently conducting further investigations to find out whether this will happen. The catastrophic event is supported by the fact that global temperatures today are similar to those during the last warm period. (approx)
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