en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Sea
1 correction found
during recent ice ages, global sea level was hundreds of metres lower
This overstates how low sea level was during recent ice ages. Authoritative U.S. sources put Last Glacial Maximum sea level at about 120–125 meters below today’s level, not multiple hundreds of meters.
Full reasoning
The claim says sea level was "hundreds of metres lower" during recent ice ages. That is too large.
Authoritative U.S. sources place global sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum—the most recent major ice-age lowstand—at roughly 120–125 meters below present, which is about 400 feet, not “hundreds of metres.”
- The U.S. Geological Survey says that about 20,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum, global sea level was more than 400 feet lower than today. That is roughly 122 meters.
- A NOAA technical report likewise states sea level was 120 m lower during the last Ice Age.
So while sea level was indeed much lower, the article’s wording exaggerates the drop by implying 200+ meters rather than about 120–125 meters.
2 sources
- How does present glacier extent and sea level compare to the extent of glaciers and global sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)? | U.S. Geological Survey
The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) occurred about 20,000 years ago... At that time, global sea level was more than 400 feet lower than it is today.
- NOAA NOS Technical Report
Figure 2.1 shows large variations in global mean sea level elevation over the last 400,000 years ... 125,000 years ago and 120 m lower during the last Ice Age, approximately 21,000 years ago.