Few scientists doubt the prediction that the antropogenic release of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will lead to some warming of the
earth's climate. So there is good reason to investigate the possible
effects of such a warming, in dependence of geographical and social-
economic setting. Many bodies, governmental or not, have organized
meetings and issued reports in which the carbon dioxide problem is
defined, reviewed, and possible threats assessed. The rate at which such
reports are produced still increases. However, while more and more
people are getting involved in the 'carbon dioxide business', the number
of investigators working on the basic problems grows, in our view, too
slowly. Many fundamental questions are still not answered in a
satisfactory way, and the carbon dioxide building rests on a few thin
pillars. One such fundamental question concerns the change in sea level
associated with a climatic warming of a few degrees. A number of
processes can be listed that could all lead to changes of the order of
tens of centimeters (e. g. thermal expansion, change in mass balance of
glaciers and ice sheets). But the picture of the carbon dioxide problem
has frequently be made more dramatic by suggesting that the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet is unstable, implying a certain probability of a 5 m
higher sea-level stand within a few centuries.