New measurement technology created by the University of Bern has been able to provide more detailed insights into Earth’s climatic history. The study analysed the composition of Earth’s atmosphere between 330,000 and 450,000 years ago when there were sudden spikes in the CO2.
According to the new research, the “abrupt rises” always came during periods of large scale glacial melting.
The study found that when the CO2 rose quickly, there were simultaneous changes in the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation which could also be detected.
However, climate researcher Thomas Stocker, co-author of the study, said: “We do not know why this happened yet.”
But what the researchers do know is that the abrupt rises were nowhere near the levels of human-driven CO2 increases.
In fact, the researchers state the increase is now 10 times faster than it was in previous instances of CO2 spikes.
CO2 is a greenhouse gas which essentially thickens the atmosphere, so when heat from the Sun enters the planet, it stays within the atmosphere, warming Earth up in the process.
To discover now that the CO2 increases are unprecedented in this day and age spells bad news for the future of our planet.
Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, lead author of the study, who earned a doctorate from the University of Bern, said: “These natural jumps in the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere happened almost ten times slower than the human-driven increase over the last decade.”
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The planet is continuing to warm, with scientists stating the global temperature has risen by roughly 0.15-0.20C per decade.
Global warming is contributing to a loss of ice cover in the Arctic and Antarctic circles and researchers believe Greenland could be one of the worst affected.
The ice covering Greenland is up to three kilometres thick in certain places, covering an area seven times the amount of the UK.
If all of this ice were to melt, it would cause sea levels to rise by a staggering seven metres, which could have major implications for the UK.
Climate models have shown a sea-level rise of more than two metres could permanently submerge large parts of the British coastline with the likes of Hull, Peterborough, Portsmouth and parts of East London and the Thames Estuary all under threat.