00:00The Waddell Sea and the Ross Sea are separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, one of the
00:08biggest in the world, covering some 530,000 cubic miles.
00:13That means that creatures on one side of the ice sheet should be as different as they would
00:16be from those in another ocean.
00:17However, a recent DNA analysis of octopuses from each side has surprised scientists, as
00:22they appear to share a relatively recent common ancestor, which experts say means that around
00:27125,000 years ago, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melted into the sea.
00:32And now the researchers say this should be worrying, as our planet is reaching a temperature
00:35threshold similar to the one at that time again.
00:39Scientists haven't been sure whether or not this particular ice sheet would collapse during
00:42a warming event like our current one.
00:43However, this new octopus DNA evidence suggests that under basically the same conditions,
00:48there's a really good chance it will.
00:50And this sort of backs up what we've been seeing over the last couple of years in the
00:52area.
00:53A giant 598 square mile London-sized section of ice broke off of the Antarctic ice shelf
00:58earlier this year, with experts warning that if just the Doomsday Glacier breaks off, one
01:03which climate scientists describe as hanging on by its fingernails, the world would see
01:07a more than two-foot sea level rise.
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