Current Rates of Sea Level Rise Higher Than IPCC Estimates

Science, November 20

Over the past decade, sea levels have risen by an average of 4.8 millimeters per year, a rate much higher than the values estimated in the IPCC’s 2014 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). This discrepancy suggests that the three main drivers of sea-level rise—thermal expansion of ocean water from global warming, melting glaciers and melting ice sheets—began sooner than previously estimated.  This compilation of sea-level rise studies projects that Greenland melt will likely become the largest contributor to rising sea levels by 2100; but that winds and ocean currents will play a crucial role in determining along which coastlines sea levels will rise the most in coming decades.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6519/901

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.