There are many questions surrounding climate change. One big
question is how the changing climate will affect the oceans. The
sea level has been steadily rising since 1900 at a rate of 1 to 2.5
millimeters per year. In fact, since 1992 new methods of satellite
altimetry using the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite indicate a rate of rise
of 3 millimeters per year. The Fourth Assessment Report from
the IPCC states that "there is strong evidence that global sea level
gradually rose in the 20th century and is currently rising at an increased
rate, after a period of little change between AD 0 and AD 1900. Sea level is
projected to rise at an even greater rate in this century. "
- Fourth Assessment Report on
Sea Level Rise
Sea level can rise
by two different mechanisms with respect to climate change. The
first is the expansion of the sea water as the oceans warm due to an
increasing global temperature. The second mechanism is the melting
of ice over land, which then adds water to the ocean. The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
predicts that total global-average sea level rise from 1990 - 2100
will be 7 - 15 inches for low emission scenarios and 10 - 23 inches for high emission scenarios.
This Science On a Sphere datasets demonstrates
rising sea levels and shows the changes in the Earth's appearance. This dataset shows
the sea level rising meter by meter from current sea level up to 6
meters above sea level. The land that would be covered by water is
shaded red to show the drastic decrease in land as the waters rise. The
same dataset is also available with black shading for land covered by
water. Using a high resolution elevation model, researchers were able to determine which areas would be covered by water in 1 m increments of sea level rise. Time is not taken into account in this dataset.
Science On a Sphere
