Huge chunks of UK could SINK below waves like they did during terrifying ancient 16 metre sea level rise
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MAJOR UK cities could sink below the waves this century after scientists discovered sea levels used to be 16 metres higher.
Low-lying areas like London, Portsmouth and Peterborough could be flooded by a similar rise, according to simulations.
One simulation shows a large chunk of East Anglia being completely submerged with a lower 13-metre sea level rise – although this doesn't take into account flood defences.
New research has revealed evidence of a dramatic sea level rise four million years ago and it could help us predict how climate change will affect our coastlines.
Experts estimate that every time the temperature increases by one degree Celsius, this triggers a sea level rise of 2.3 metres.
However, the geological study of rocks and minerals from four million years ago showed that sea levels rose much higher when the Earth was only two or three degrees warmer than it is now.
The world is already 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than it was during pre-industrial times but it's expected to pass the 2 degree benchmark between 2050 and 2100.
During the recent study, an international team of scientists analysed six rock formations in Artà Cave on the island of Majorca.
They took seventy geological samples of rocks and mineral deposits from all over the cave, which is 100 metres from the nearest coastline.
Despite this distance, all of the deposits taken were formed from oceanic buildup.
The scientists then determined that this buildup must have started when sea levels rose and flooded the cave between 3-4million years ago.
During this ancient time period, scientists think the Earth was two or three degrees warmer than it is now.
The world temperature is currently thought to be increasing due to climate change but scientists still don't know for sure how fast sea levels will rise during this warming.
Lead author of the research Oana Dumitru said: "Constraining models for sea level rise due to increased warming critically depends on actual measurements of past sea level.
"This study provides very robust measurements of sea level heights during the Pliocene."
The researchers created their own ice sheet models to predict what could happen in the future.
Four million years ago, during a period known as the Pliocene Climatic Optimum, the researchers think sea levels may have even reached 23 metres above current levels.
Study co-author Bogdan Onac said: "We can use knowledge gained from past warm periods to tune ice sheet models that are then used to predict future ice sheet response to current global warming."
Even if current levels of CO2 stabilise, the researchers still think that sea levels will rise to previously seen before levels or higher.
This is because ice sheets are very sensitive to warming and the models created for the study highlight this.
This research has been published in the journal .
Rising sea levels – what's the problem?
Here's what you need to know...
- The global sea level has been gradually rising over the past century
- Sea levels rise due to two main reasons
- The first is thermal expansion – as water gets warmer, it expands
- The second is melting ice on land, adding fresh water into seas
- This has a cyclical effect, because melting ice also warms up the planet (and oceans), causing more even ice to melt and boosting thermal expansion
- It's currently rising at a rate of around 0.3cm per year
- The sea is huge, so that might sound harmless
- But rising sea levels can have a devastating effect over time
- Low-lying coastal areas can disappear completely, even putting areas of the UK at risk
- It can also mean sea storms and tsunamis can have a more devastating effect, reaching further in-land than they would have previously
- There's also an increased risk of flooding
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In other news, coastal towns have been warned they need to pick up and move inland – or risk destruction by flooding and violent storms.
Scientists recently warned that waves are getting stronger, and say we've "underestimated" the risks of climate change.
Parts of Europe could disappear as Nasa warns Antarctica is melting 6 times faster than it was 40 years ago.
Would your home be affected by this predicted sea level rise? Let us know in the comments...
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