Continued global warming could result in future sea-level changes-12/9/ 2011

Continued global warming could result in future sea-level changes

Monday, September 12th, 2011

A new method of dating fossil coral reef skeletons has provided evidence that the sea levels may not remain as stable in a warming world as previously believed, a new study has revealed.

The research – which dated fossil coral reef skeletons to a period 125,000 years ago found sea-level oscillations during a period of time, which was assumed to be relatively stable.

Instead of stable sea levels, the researchers estimated that the sea level oscillated up and down by 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 feet) over a few thousand years, approximately 120,000 years ago during a period of time known as the Last Interglacial.

“This was the last time that climate was as warm as—or warmer than—today,” said WHOI geochronologist William G. Thompson, lead author of the study.

“If today”s ice sheets continue to melt, we may be headed for a period of ice sheet and sea-level change that is more dynamic than current observations of ice sheets suggest.”

The polar ice caps currently are shrinking and sea level is rising at a rate of about 30 centimeters (one foot) per century.

“How much sea level will rise over the next century or two is a crucial question for the significant part of the world”s population that lives in coastal zones,” Thompson said.

The finding of a significant sea-level oscillation 120,000 years ago is in sharp contrast to the last 5,000 years, where sea level has been relatively stable. “It appears that the smaller ice sheets of the Last Interglacial were significantly less stable than today”s ice sheets,” Thompson said.

Should the current warming trend continue, Thompson said, a scenario similar to that of the Last Interglacial could result.

The study was recently published in Nature Geoscience.
Disclaimer: Bioscholar is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The articles are based on peer reviewed research, and discoveries/products mentioned in the articles may not be approved by the regulatory bodies.