If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) melted, sea levels would rise by about 5 m; such changes are thought to have occurred in the past but could not be simulated by models. Pollard and DeConto combine ice-sheet with ice-shelf modelling, and show that over the past 5 million years, the WAIS transitioned among full, intermediate, and collapsed states in only a few thousand years, suggesting possible disintegration of the WAIS if ocean temperatures in the area rise by 5 °C.
- David Pollard
- Robert M. DeConto
