Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Paleoclimatic evidence for future ice-sheet instability and rapid sea-level rise

January 1, 2006

Sea-level rise from melting of polar ice sheets is one of the largest potential threats of future climate change. Polar warming by the year 2100 may reach levels similar to those of 130,000 to 127,000 years ago that were associated with sea levels several meters above modern levels; both the Greenland Ice Sheet and portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet may be vulnerable. The record of past ice-sheet melting indicates that the rate of future melting and related sea-level rise could be faster than widely thought.

Publication Year 2006
Title Paleoclimatic evidence for future ice-sheet instability and rapid sea-level rise
DOI 10.1126/science.1115159
Authors J. T. Overpeck, B. L. Otto-Bliesner, G. H. Miller, D.R. Muhs, R. B. Alley, J.T. Kiehl
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Science
Index ID 70030508
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse