Earth's sea levels may rise 25 meters by 4000 AD despite CO2 freeze

Malaysia Sun (ANI) Monday 22nd June, 2009

London, June 22 : A new study on the effects of climate change on melting ice sheets has indicated that even if scientists could freeze-frame the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) as it is today, sea levels would still rise by 25 meters by 4000 AD.

According to a report in New Scientist, Eelco Rohling of the UK National Oceanography Centre at the University of Southampton and colleagues conducted the study.

They reconstructed sea level fluctuations over the last 520,000 years and compared this to global climate and carbon dioxide levels data for the same period.

They found a tight coupling between carbon dioxide and sea level rise.

Based on this relationship, the team calculated that if the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were fixed at current levels, temperature rises over the next couple of millennia would eventually drive sea levels up by 25 meters.

The team emphasizes that the rise would not happen overnight or even over the next century.

Two studies published last year suggested that there is a limit to how fast the water can rise.

According to one, sea levels could rise by approximately 1.3 meters by 2100. The other set the upper limit at 2 meters.