Harnessing animal genomes to understand East Antarctic Ice Sheet melt history

Principal Investigator

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 19m, yet its sensitivity to warming is deeply uncertain. This project aims to understand whether the EAIS experienced significant melting during the unusually warm periods in the last one million years, when average temperatures reached ~0.5-5°C warmer than today, with global sea levels up to 20m higher. It does so by investigating marine animal evolutionary history restricted along the EAIS margin, which can reveal the sizes of the available seafloor habitat in the last one million years, to reconstruct the EAIS extent through time. Understanding whether the EAIS experienced mass loss during past warm periods, the sensitivity of the ice sheet to warming can be established. By providing empirical evidence pinpointing the thresholds of EAIS instability, this project will benefit the ability of policymakers to plan and mitigate against impending global sea level rise.

03 Nov 2025 - 31 Dec 2027

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