Title: Causes of Sea Level Rise: What the Science Tells Us | Union of Concerned Scientists
Headings: Causes of Sea Level Rise
Causes of Sea Level Rise
What the Science Tells Us
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Content: Causes of Sea Level Rise: What the Science Tells Us | Union of Concerned Scientists
Reports & Multimedia / Report
Causes of Sea Level Rise
What the Science Tells Us
Published Apr 16, 2013
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Sea level is rising — and at an accelerating rate — especially along the US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico
Global average sea level rose roughly eight inches from 1880 - 2009. The average annual rate of global sea level rise accelerated from 1993 - 2008, increasing 65 - 90 percent above the twentieth century average. The US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico experienced some of the world's fastest rates of sea level rise in the twentieth century due to local and regional factors. Global warming is the primary cause of current sea level rise. Human activities, such as burning coal and oil and cutting down tropical forests, have increased atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping gases and caused the planet to warm by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. Rising temperatures are warming ocean waters, which expand as the temperature increases. This thermal expansion was the main driver of global sea level rise for 75 - 100 years after the start of the Industrial Revolution, though its relative contribution has declined as the shrinking of land ice has accelerated. Land ice—glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets—is shrinking at a faster rate in response to rising temperatures, adding water to the world's oceans. As the rate of ice loss has accelerated, its contribution to global sea level rise has increased from a little more than half of the total increase from 1993 - 2008 to 75 - 80 percent of the total increase between 2003 - 2007.