400 ppm of CO2 is a 'milestone' figure but what we should expect is pretty clear. Tim Naith and othe scientists from Victoria University, Wellington, who have been involved in the Andrill project, have examined the results other their exploration and can point to what we can expect.
In an outstanding project the team drilled down through the ice, passed through the sea and then deep into the sea bed to recover core samples from the bottom. The material here holds records of the ice flow and temperature through changing climates periods over millions of years.
Detailed examination of the core samples has revealed that the last time the Earth had 400 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere was four million years ago, the temperature was 3C warmer and the sea level was 12 meters higher. What is uncertain is how long it will take and there are thousands of scientists working on that now. A lot of people want to know and each piece of evidence brings the date foreword.
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