Rising sea levels

According to research published in Geophysical Research Letters, the loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica has accelerated over the last 20 years. This is likely to become the biggest cause of sea level rise in the future. Combining data from satellite pictures and using climate models, scientists have forecasted a 1.3mm rise in sea levels per year specifically from the two main polar ice sheets melting.

This rise may seem small, but in the context of overall sea levels rising by 3mm per year and the location of much of the worlds population in low lying areas, the cumulative impact may be significant.

In addition, the rate of ice loss is accelerating and is now though to be occurring faster than earlier predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Greenland and Antarctic sheets are already losing billions of tonnes of ice per year and it is believed that the global sea level could rise by a further 15cm, around 6 inches, by 2050.

That ice sheets will dominate future sea level rise is not surprising - they hold a lot more ice mass than mountain glaciers, said lead author Eric Rignot from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. What is surprising is this increased contribution by the ice sheets is already happening.

Dr Gary Robertshaw
The Green Providers Directory