Overview

• Turquet’s octopuses' DNA reveals that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) last collapsed between 54,000 and 139,000 years ago, during the Last Interglacial period.
• The WAIS holds enough water to raise global sea levels by more than 16 feet if it were to melt entirely, threatening many coastal cities.
• Global average temperatures are currently around 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial averages, similar to the Last Interglacial period when the WAIS last collapsed.
• The study suggests that the WAIS is closer to collapse than previously thought, even under the best-case emissions scenarios.
• Understanding the past configurations of the WAIS when global temperatures were similar to today can help improve future sea-level rise projections.