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Greenland Ice Sheet Collapse Began 400,000 Years Ago

A period known as the Marine Isotope Stage 11 resulted in a global sea level rise of about 6-13 meters above present time.

(CORVALLIS, Ore. ) - A new study suggests that a warming period more than 400,000 years ago pushed the Greenland ice sheet past its stability threshold, resulting in a nearly complete deglaciation of southern Greenland and raising global sea levels some 4-6 meters.

The study is one of the first to zero in on how the vast Greenland ice sheet responded to warmer temperatures during that period, which were caused by changes in the Earth’s orbit around the sun.