Though some scientists still hold onto the "myth" that coastal water will rise only a few centimeters, In a thousand years land area will be much smaller in comparison with the ocean. Some estimates put sea rise as high as 40 meters. This will devastate low-lying land. Countries as we know them today will be unrecognisable. Research is in train to find out sea height 3 million years ago by studying coral reefs, sand dunes and fossils. This will enable more accurate forecasts to be made. The extent of ice sheets that will be left with global warning and higher greenhouse gases will be ascertained. A collection of sediment in the Lamont-Doherty Core Repository, the world's largest, is being used in the study. The frequency of ice ages has already been identified more accurately. They occurred every 41,000 years. It had been believed that the time frame was every 100,000 years. Furthermore, rising mountain ranges cool the Earth's temperature. It is now obvious ...