Title: Sea Level Rise | Smithsonian Ocean
Headings: Smithsonian Ocean
Smithsonian Ocean
Sea Level Rise
History of Sea Level Rise
Last Glacial Period
Sea Level on the Rise
Why is it Rising?
Thermal Expansion
Melting Ice
Other Contributions
Modern Sea Level
Measuring Global Sea Level
Changing Regional and Local Sea Levels
Impacts
Storms and Flooding
Changing Coastlines
Saltwater Intrusion
There's No Place Like Home
Regional Case Studies
Florida and the U.S. Gulf Coast
Island Nations
Alaska
River Deltas
Future Sea Level & Adaptation
Reducing Emissions
Holding Back the Sea
Moving Inland
Additional Resources

Content: When burned, these high-energy fuel sources send carbon dioxide up into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide absorbs heat from the sun and traps it, warming the atmosphere and the planet. As the planet gets warmer, sea level rises for two reasons. First, warmer temperatures cause ice on land like glaciers and ice sheets to melt, and the meltwater flows into the ocean to increase sea level. Second, warm water expands and takes up more space than colder water, increasing the volume of water in the sea. Sea level rise will hit the coasts the hardest. Over the coming centuries, land that is today home to between 470 and 760 million coastal residents will be inundated
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by sea level rise associated with a 4 degree Celsius warming that will occur if we fail to curb the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Much of this population lives in cities
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. Sea level rise already makes storms more dangerous, causing more flooding and damage in areas crowded with people. And it will affect different parts of the world differently, with some parts of the planet being particularly hard hit.