Antarctic Ice Sheet variability across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary climate transition

Why did the Antarctic Ice Sheet begin to grow 34 million years ago, and what does that have to do with us? Galeotti et al. studied a marine sediment core recovered from just off the coast of Antarctica (see the Perspective by Lear and Lunt). The ice sheet did not begin to grow until atmospheric CO2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Galeotti, S., DeConto, R., Naish, T., Stocchi, P., Florindo, F., Pagani, M., Barrett, P., Bohaty, S.M., Lanci, L., Pollard, D., Sandroni, S., Talarico, F.M., Zachos, J.C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Ice sheets
Sea level changes
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://imis.nioz.nl/imis.php?module=ref&refid=254725
Description
Summary:Why did the Antarctic Ice Sheet begin to grow 34 million years ago, and what does that have to do with us? Galeotti et al. studied a marine sediment core recovered from just off the coast of Antarctica (see the Perspective by Lear and Lunt). The ice sheet did not begin to grow until atmospheric CO2 concentrations had dropped to below around 600 parts per million. Indeed, the ice sheet was unstable when CO 2 was higher. As modern atmospheric CO 2 concentrations continue their rise, a shift back to an unstable Antarctic Ice Sheet could increase harmful rises in sea level.

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