Ice loss from Antarctica's vast freshwater reservoir could threaten coastal communities and the global economy if the ice volume decreases by just a few per cent.
In a new study published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers from academic institutions in Norway, UK and Germany have run model simulations through the glacial cycles over the last 800,000 years. During this period, the Earth’s climate has switched several times between cold ‘glacials’ and warmer ‘interglacials’. Some of these past interglacials were likely warmer than our present-day climate and give a picture of how the vast Antarctic Ice Sheet could respond to future warming.
– In the past 800,000 years, the Antarctic Ice Sheet has had two stable states that it has repeatedly tipped between. One, with the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in place, is the state we are currently in. The other state is where the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has collapsed, first author David Chandler from NORCE in Norway tells.