Its authors say understanding the way strong global heating affects polar ice sheets will be crucial to projecting sea level rise over the next century. However, uncertainties remain and current knowledge about ice sheets suggests sea-level rise under continued strong warming could be higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ‘likely’ range by 2100.
The authors of the study, published today in the journal One Earth, also suggest ways scientists can make predictions more certain, by improving our understanding of ice-sheet dynamics, such as how they interact with warming oceans and how they fracture and break apart.
Lead author Professor Martin Siegert, from the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment at Imperial College London, said: “Greenhouse gas emissions are still on the rise, and strong heating, of more than 4°C by 2100, is well within the realm of the possible if emissions continue unabated.
Read more: Imperial College London
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