Title: What Is The Mean Sea Level And What Is Its Significance? - WorldAtlas
Headings: What Is The Mean Sea Level And What Is Its Significance?
What Is The Mean Sea Level And What Is Its Significance?
Measuring The Mean Sea Level
Changes In The Mean Sea Level
Will The Sea Level Continue To Rise?
Effects Of Rising Mean Sea Level

Content: Tectonic plate movement, atmospheric pressure, and even changing tides may result in short-term changes to the mean sea level. In this case, short-term is defined as anywhere from just a few minutes to just over a year. Despite these short-term changes, however, researchers have been able to identify some trends in measurements over a long period of time. The majority of scientists agree that the oceans have been rising at an average rate of around one-tenth of an inch every year over the last century. In the last two decades, however, the average annual increase has been 0.13 inches. Some of the principal causes of rising sea levels are melting glaciers, eroding shorelines, and increasing temperatures in the water. As the ocean absorbs the increasing temperatures above water, its own temperature increases. Hotter waters cause thermal expansion in the top layer of the ocean. The overall increase in temperature is the result of human activity, like burning fossil fuels, that releases large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Will The Sea Level Continue To Rise?