Sea Level Rise: Oceans Rising Faster Than Ever Before

Not only are sea levels rising, they’re rising faster than they have in previous decades. The difference in rise is due in part to the rapid melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as thermal expansion — the ocean takes up more space as the water warms. In 1993 there was a 2.2 millimeter per year rise in sea level expected. By 2014 that measurement rose to 3.3 mm per year, a study in Nature Climate Change found.

While thermal expansion has played a part in the rise, it’s mostly due to the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which has sped up due to rising global temperatures. That melting was responsible for less than 5 percent of the global mean sea-level rise in 1993 but for more than 25 percent in 2014, a massive increase in just over two decades. “The estimated increase in the rate of rise has important implications for projections of sea-level rise and for society,” the study said.

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The researchers expect the sea level to continue to rise at even quicker rates in the future, the paper said. It concludes by noting more information is still necessary. “The study period is still short and ongoing observations are required to understand the longer-term significance of this finding, and to identify the contributions of decadal and multidecadal variations that are unresolved in the 20-year-long records,” it said.

NASA puts the current rise of global mean sea level at 3.4 mm per year, and rising while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put global rise at around 3.2 mm per year. While the measurements all vary a bit, they show that yearly sea level rise is increasing. NOAA also reported the glacier mass loss in Greenland has rapidly increased. From 1992 to 2001, the glacier lost 34 gigatons per year, NOAA reported, a number that increased to 215 gigatons per year between 2002 and 2011. Additionally, the Antarctic loss has followed a similar trend, with 30 gigatons per year lost between 1992 and 2011 and a whopping 147 gigatons per year lost from 2002 to 2011.

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This specific report is important to researchers because it reaffirms the methods used to measure sea level rise and its components are working. The sea level change over the years is easier to measure than the actual components or the year-to-year change. This research breaks down that sea level rise to the components of thermal expansion, melting ice and glaciers and water storage and loss, from things like rainfall, on an annual basis and shows it matches the averages.

This means sea-level rise can be better studied in the future. As it rises it increasingly will affect coastal communities, and the better the data, the better those communities can prepare.