Sea levels spiked with ancient warming event

[n2doc]

Around 125,000 years ago, global warming drove sea levels to surge by more than 20 feet.

Wed Dec 16, 2009 04:45 PM ET | content provided by AFP

Sea levels were likely eight meters higher around 125,000 years ago when polar temperatures were 3-5 degrees Celsius (5.4-9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer, says a new study published Wednesday to show the effects of global warming.

The research by Harvard University and Princeton University was released in the journal Nature as the world's nations met in Denmark to forge a strategy to head off harmful effects of global warming blamed on greenhouse gases.

To understand the potential effects of a rise in temperature, the researchers reexamined data about the last interglacial stage -- a warmer period within an ice age -- which climaxed about 125,000 years ago, they said.

At the time, polar temperatures were 3-5 degrees Celsius higher than today, providing a comparison for current scenarios of future rises of 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), they said.

"We find a 95 percent probability that global sea level peaked at least 6.6 meters (nearly 22 feet) higher than today during the last interglacial," the study said.
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