Lead author Dr. Eric Wolff from Cambridge University summarized a recent Nature paper on the stability of West Antarctica during the Last Inter-Glacial 125,000 years ago. Temperatures were about 3°C warmer in the region than pre-industrial during this time, and global sea levels at least 5 and up to 10 meters higher; yet the key Ronne Ice Shelf on the Weddell Sea appears to have remained in place, indicating that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet must not have collapsed completely. This means that West Antarctica was not the only major contributor to sea-level rise during this period, indicating that Greenland and likely East Antarctica both lost significant ice.
Video recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5hN5Zmo2x0
Full paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08394-w
News coverage by the British Antarctic Survey: https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/ancient-antarctic-ice-loss-offers-insights-into-future-climate-scenarios/
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 23 April 2026 Observations suggest we are currently tracking…
NPJ Natural Hazards, 16 April 2026) Rising temperatures and shifting regional precipitation patterns are reducing…
Nature Communications, 18 March 2026 This study identified a marked increase in both flood frequency…
The Cryosphere, 7 April 2026 Projections of Antarctica’s response to temporary but extreme ocean warming…
The Cryosphere, 1 April 2026 Antarctic sea ice stayed fairly steady from 2010-2014, but began…
Changes in Antarctica can trigger fast and cascading impacts, often with global consequences. Multiple abrupt…