evidence: In the last 140 years, global mean sea level has risen by about 15 cm. Not sure about my eyes, but detecting a 15cm sea-level difference from these pictures seems difficult. What you could see on the picture is the dark brownish band that is much larger on the right picture than on the left. Assuming that this brownish band denotes the tidal range, the right picture has been taken at low tide, while the left picture has been taken at a much higher tidal level. In Sydney, the typical tidal range is about 1 meter. Therefore, if you compare two pictures to derive sea level changes, the odds are that you’re comparing tidal levels rather than long-term sea-level changes. The catch with sea level is that it’s not just the mean level that rises, but the high tide level will also rise. Therefore, without detailed information on the exact timing of the picture and a tidal chart, one simply cannot derive decimeter-accuracy estimates of sea-level change from these two pictures. [...] Long story short: from these pictures, one cannot conclude that sea level in Sydney has risen by 0.0 cm. In fact, two independent tide gauge records show that sea level in Sydney has risen by about 12 cm since the end of the 19th century.