Melting icebergs in Antarctica in 2023
Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Between 4000 and 8000 years ago, it is possible that sea levels were higher than they are today. By studying the ancient climate, we can gain insight into what led to these high seas and improve our projections for how climate change will impact sea levels in the future.
According to Roger Creel at Columbia University in New York, there have been three periods in Earth’s recent geologic history that resembled our current climate. The most recent of these occurred during the middle of the Holocene Epoch…
Article amended on 26 July 2023
We have clarified when past average sea levels during the Holocene were most likely to have been highest, the type of measurements used to estimate past relative sea levels and why Antarctic ice may have been less extensive than at present.
