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

• 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

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.