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Sea level rise: It's worse than we thought

As more and more ice slides into the ocean, sea levels are rising faster and faster – but just how high will they get?

the fate of the planet's ice, from relatively small ice caps in places like the Canadian Arctic, the Andes and the Himalayas, to the immense ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, will largely determine the speed and extent of sea level rise

The oceans are already rising. Global average sea level rose about 17 centimetres in the 20th century, and the rate of rise is increasing. The biggest uncertainty for those trying to predict future changes is how humanity will behave. Will we start to curb our emissions of greenhouse gases sometime soon, or will we continue to pump ever more into the atmosphere?

According to one recent estimate, the continued loss of this ice will add another 10 to 20 centimetres to sea level by 2100

The second biggest contributor has been thermal expansion of the oceans

clipped from: www.newscientist.com

Ancient reefs in Mexico suggest the sea rose 3 metres within 100 years (Image: Paul Blanchon)

Greenland is already losing enough ice to raise sea level by 0.8 millimetres per year (Image: Nick Cobbing)