Antarctic ice sheets face catastrophic

collapse without deep emissions cuts

Study finds that a global temperature increase of 3C would cause ice shelves to disappear,
triggering sea-level rise that would continue for thousands of years
A team of researchers has found that steep cuts to emissions during the next decade are the
only way to avoid a catastrophic collapse of Antarctic ice sheets and associated sea-level rise
that will continue for thousands of years.
The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, found that should the global
temperature increase to around 3C (5.4F) above the pre-industrial era then the ice shelves that
hold back the giant continental ice sheets would be lost over the next few centuries.
This would trigger a collapse that would go on for thousands of years, raising sea levels by
0.6 metres to 3 metres (2-10ft) by the year 2300 depending on how high manmade
greenhouse gas emissions remain. Our descendants living in the year 5000 will continue to
suffer the consequences of todays fossil fuel burning, as sea levels continue to rise up to 9
metres (30ft) above current levels.