Octopus DNA Reveals Past Collapse of West Antarctic Ice Sheet

The collapse, which occurred when temperatures were just one degree Celsius warmer than the preindustrial period, could foreshadow a future global sea level rise of more than 10 feet.

New research using the DNA of Turquet’s octopus, a species found around Antarctica, suggests that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet completely collapsed in the past when temperatures were just one degree Celsius warmer than the preindustrial period.
The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which currently holds 770,000 cubic miles of ice, would result in a global sea level rise of more than 10 feet.
Scientists analyzed nearly 100 samples of DNA from Turquet’s octopuses and found genetic similarities between populations separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, suggesting that these populations intermingled when the ice sheet had completely melted.
The genetic analysis suggests that the populations began intermingling more than three million years ago and were separated between 139,000 and 54,000 years ago, aligning with the Last Interglacial, a warm period that occurred 130,000 to 115,000 years ago.
Understanding the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is crucial for predicting the timeline of its future collapse and the resulting pace of rising sea levels.