New research shows that sea level rise around the globe is coming, but levels could be higher than expected.
Multiple studies have found that parts of Earth's ice sheets are expected to crumble, and in some cases could cause sea level increases of up to 42 feet.
In November of last year NASA released data forecasting a rise in sea levels along the U.S. coastline of as much as 12 inches by 2050. That data was the result of analysing three decades of satellite observations.
NASA says global sea levels have been rising for decades, caused by a warming overall climate.
In a study published in Nature Communications, the study's co-author Fabian Schloesser, at the University of Hawaii, said a model with a threshold between 34 degrees Fahrenheit and 35 degrees Fahrenheit showed that the small window of temperature rise could accelerate ice loss and sea level increases.
A small window could have a massive impact in changing Earth as we know it.
AFP reporting found that research has long pointed to ice sheets in the western portion of Antarctica and in Greenland which could lift ocean levels by over 40 feet if they crumble. These ice shelves have what is known as a "tipping point," where disintegration would be inevitable.
With a list of studies from around the globe, misinterpretation of data has been a huge hinderance in fully understanding the scenario the global population faces.
Climate models have been found to underestimate the amount of sea level rise that ice sheet crumbling can cause.
Scientists from South Korea and the United States are working together in one study to project the amount of sea level rise disintegrating ice sheets would cause by 2150.
The study looks at multiple emissions scenarios including deep cuts which the United Nations has called for, a large increase in carbon pollution and the current climate policies in place now.
