Rising sea levels represent a significant problem. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Phillip Capper
Despite concerted international efforts to curb the effects of global warming, new satellite data has indicated that a rise in sea levels around the world is still an unfortunate inevitability.
Scientists at NASA have this week revealed that with the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melting at a faster rate than ever before sea levels will rise by at least 3ft over the next 100 years.
“More than 150 million people, most of them in Asia, live within one meter of present sea level,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division.
“It may entirely eliminate some Pacific island nations.”
The world’s oceans have risen by around 7.6cm since 1992 with most of it being attributed to melt water from countries such as Greenland where 303,000 tons of ice are being lost each year.
“Sea level rise is one of the most visible signatures of our changing climate, and rising seas have profound impacts on our nation, our economy and all of humanity,” said Freilich.
“By combining space-borne direct measurements of sea level with a host of other measurements from satellites and sensors in the oceans themselves, NASA scientists are not only tracking changes in ocean heights but are also determining the reasons for those changes.”
