‘Nature’s red flag’: Ancient peat layers show fast sea rise and science warns we could be next
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Peat Reveals
Ancient peat deposits under the North Sea show sea levels once surged by over a meter per century—rewriting early Holocene climate history.
Doggerland Drowned
This lost land once linked Britain to Europe, but melted ice sheets turned it into seabed—now offering vital clues to ocean rise.
Double Surge
Two rapid sea level spikes occurred 10,300 and 8,300 years ago, each tied to bursts of melting ice caps, scientists confirm.
Data Tightened
Researchers refined past sea level rise estimates to about 38 meters total between 11,000–3,000 years ago—narrowing a long-debated range.
Speed Echo
Rates of ancient sea rise match worst-case projections for 21st-century climate models: over 1 meter per century.
New Warnings
Unlike natural past warming, today’s surge is human-driven—and faster, with Greenland and Antarctic melt now accelerating.
History Speaks
Lead geologist Marc Hijma calls the findings “a warning from the past,” crucial for adapting modern infrastructure.
Flood Future
The IPCC warns sea levels could rise several meters by 2300—echoing the scale seen after the last ice age.
Coastal Threat
Unlike ancient humans, our modern world is anchored in vulnerable coastal cities—raising the stakes of rising seas.