Related topics: climate change , sea level , ice sheet
Current sea level rise
hideCurrent sea level rise has occurred at a mean rate of 1.8 mm per year for the past century, and more recently at rates estimated near 2.8 ± 0.4 to 3.1 ± 0.7 mm per year (1993-2003). Current sea level rise is due partly to human-induced global warming, which will increase sea level over the coming century and longer periods. Increasing temperatures result in sea level rise by the thermal expansion of water and through the addition of water to the oceans from the melting of continental ice sheets. Thermal expansion, which is well-quantified, is currently the primary contributor to sea level rise and is expected to be the primary contributor over the course of the next century. Glacial contributions to sea-level rise are less important, and are more difficult to predict and quantify. Values for predicted sea level rise over the course of the next century typically range from 90 to 880 mm, with a central value of 480 mm. Based on an analog to the deglaciation of North America at 9,000 years before present, some scientists predict sea level rise of 1.3 meters in the next century. However, models of glacial flow in the smaller present-day ice sheets show that a probable maximum value for sea level rise in the next century is 80 centimeters, based on limitations on how quickly ice can flow below the equilibrium line altitude and to the sea.
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News tagged with sea level rise
Cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would save Arctic ice, reduce sea level rise
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (88) |
15
The threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century, according to a new analysis. While global temperatures would ...
Melting Greenland ice sheets may threaten Northeast United States, Canada
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 27, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (71) |
18
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet this century may drive more water than previously thought toward the already threatened coastlines of New York, Boston, Halifax, and other cities in the northeastern United ...
Global warming to carry big costs for California
Mar 12, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (56) |
11
(AP) -- From agricultural losses to devastation wrought by wildfires, California's economy is expected to see significant costs resulting from global warming in the decades ahead, according to a new report.
Sea level rise could be worse than anticipated
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 05, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (49) |
37
If global warming some day causes the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to collapse, as many experts believe it could, the resulting sea level rise in much of the United States and other parts of the world would be ...
Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 16, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (46) |
40
A new analysis of the geological record of the Earth's sea level, carried out by scientists at Princeton and Harvard universities and published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, employs a novel statistical approa ...
Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (26) |
31
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis ...
New predictions for sea level rise
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 27, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (25) |
12
Fossil coral data and temperature records derived from ice-core measurements have been used to place better constraints on future sea level rise, and to test sea level projections.
Arctic heats up more than other places
Jan 16, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (19) |
11
Temperature change in the Arctic is happening at a greater rate than other places in the Northern Hemisphere, and this is expected to continue in the future.
Sea level is rising along US Atlantic coast, say environmental scientists
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (13) |
2
An international team of environmental scientists led by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that sea-level rise along the Atlantic Coast of the United States was 2 millimeters faster in the 20th century ...
Sea Level Is Rising Along U.S. Atlantic Coast, According to New Data Analysis
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (13) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of environmental scientists led by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that sea-level rise along the Atlantic Coast of the United States was 2 millimeters faster in the 20th century ...
First comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica's climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 01, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (12) |
3
The first comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica's climate and its relationship to the global climate system is published this week by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The review - Antarctic ...
Antarctic glacier thinning at alarming rate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 14, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (13) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- The thinning of a gigantic glacier in Antarctica is accelerating, scientists warned today.
Rising sea levels set to have major impacts around the world
Mar 10, 2009 |
2.6 / 5 (14) |
2
Research presented today at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen shows that the upper range of sea level rise by 2100 could be in the range of about one meter, or possibly more. In the lower ...
Final frontier: Mission to explore buried ancient Antarctic lake given green light
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
0
An international team of scientists led by the UK has been given the go-ahead to explore one of the planet's last great frontiers - an ancient lake hidden deep beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. Buried under ...
What could 4 degree warming mean for the world?
Sep 28, 2009 |
2.1 / 5 (13) |
11
(PhysOrg.com) -- A leading climate scientist has presented new research findings on the increasing potential for a 4 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures if the current high emissions of greenhouse ...
