East Antarctica is the unifying ‘sleeping giant’ largest ice sheet on earth and their disbursement if climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions is not addressed can raise sea level by five meters in a few centuries. This is described in a new study conducted by researchers from institutions in Australia, the United States, France and the United Kingdom, and published in the journal ‘Natural‘.

This study shows that the worst effects of global warming are on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet can be avoided if the temperature does not rise more than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels, a goal included in the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 to prevent climate change. If global warming stays below that limit, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet will contribute less than half a meter to sea level rise by 2500.

However, if it exceeds the 2ºC barrier, the ice sheet has potential can raise sea level up to five meters for that date. To assess the sensitivity of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the researchers looked at how it responded to warm spells in the past, as well as examining where changes occurred today.

They then analyzed computer simulations performed by previous studies to examine the effects of different greenhouse gas emission levels and temperatures on the ice sheet for the years 2100, 2300 and 2500.

For Chris Stokes, of the University of Durham (United Kingdom) and lead author of the work, “a key conclusion from our analysis is that the fate of the East Antarctic ice sheet still in our handsStokes emphasizes on this: “This ice sheet is by far the largest on the planet, containing the equivalent of 52 meters above sea level and it is very important that we do not wake this sleeping giant.”

“We used to think that East Antarctica was much more vulnerable to climate change, than the West Antarctica or Greenland ice sheets, but now we know that there are some areas of East Antarctica that are already showing signs of ice loss. Satellite observations have revealed evidence of thinning and retreating, particularly where glaciers draining major ice sheets come into contact with warm ocean currents.”

New analysis shows that if warming continues beyond 2100, sustained by high emissions, then East Antarctica could add several meters of global sea level rise over the next few centuries, add to the substantial contribution of Greenland and West Antarctica, and would threaten the millions of people worldwide who are affected. live in coastal areas. “Limiting global temperature rise below the 2°C limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement means we avoid the worst-case scenario, or maybe even the worst-case scenario. stop the melting of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and therefore limiting its impact on global sea level rise,” Stokes said.