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.
For more information about Current sea level rise, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with sea level rise
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 ...
Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 16, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (45) |
33
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
New discoveries could improve climate projections
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 11, 2009 |
3 / 5 (3) |
0
New discoveries about the deep ocean's temperature variability and circulation system could help improve projections of future climate conditions.
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 ...
Diverting Sediment-rich Water Below New Orleans Could Lead to Extensive New Land
Oct 20, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Diverting sediment-rich water from the Mississippi River below New Orleans could generate new land in the river's delta in the next century.
Dutch help California's Bay Area plan for sea level rise
Sep 22, 2009 |
1.8 / 5 (4) |
1
How to plan for sea level rise, a still-abstract concept for many Californians, drew serious consideration from engineers, designers and urban planners from Holland and the U.S. at a symposium held on Monday.
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.
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.
