What does the Last Interglaciation tell us about Arctic warmth and melting of polar ice caps?
How fast and how much will sea level rise in the future in response to global warming? The answer to this question is of special importance to low-lying areas and islands, but can also affect water supply in coastal regions and regions exposed to storm surges. In the last few years, sea level has begun to rise more rapidly, now at a rate of about an inch per decade. With human-caused increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases, we are already committed to more climate change in the future. An important question is how much Greenland and Antarctica will add to future sea level rise. The Last Interglaciation, which lasted from about 130,000 to 116,000 years ago, is a period when Arctic summers were moderately warmer than today (up to 5 degrees Celsius), the Greenland ice sheet was markedly reduced in size, and sea level was 4 to 6 meters above its level today. NCAR scientist Bette Otto-Bliesner, University of Arizona professor Jonathan Overpeck, University of Calgary professor Shawn Marsha
