Melting icebergs in Antarctica in 2023
Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Between 4000 and 8000 years ago, it is believed that sea levels might have been higher than they are at present. Exploring the ancient climate and its impact on the oceans during that time could enhance our understanding of how climate change may affect sea levels in the 21st century.
Columbia University’s Roger Creel explains that there were three periods in Earth’s recent geological history that resembled the current climate to some extent. The most recent of these periods occurred around 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.
