Sea Level Trends

NOTE:  the above is just a screenshot - you cannot click on it for more information.
For the interactive map go here: http://www.co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/sltrends/

Today's world average rate of rise in sea levels is 3.2 mm per year.   That would amount to a rise of 51 mm (about 2 inches) over the next 16 years.  The scientific community consensus is that this is driven by global warming.  The 3 mm/yr rise rate is of concern, of course.  But I wouldn't categorize it as impending disaster.

An interesting point is that the rise rate is not uniform across the world (see above map, or better yet, the online interactive map).  In some areas the rise rate is >9 mm/yr, in other areas it is negative - actually decreasing.  One reason for this is that local weather changes impact sea levels via changes in ocean winds that can "pile up" the water near the shores (or can do the opposite).   This phenomena, the non-uniformity due to changes in wind patterns, is climate change driven.  Another reason could be that the measurement trends are not corrected for local land movement (see the caution statement here).

To explore more data and information on sea level changes check out the below:

• http://www.co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/sltrends/

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Projected_change_in_global_sea_level_rise_if_atmospheric_carbon_dioxide_concentrations_were_to_either_quadruple_or_double_%28NOAA_GFDL%29.png

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_sea_level_rise#mediaviewer/File:Global_Mean_Sea_Level.sv

• http://www.psmsl.org/products/trends/

• http://static.springer.com/sgw/documents/650498/application/pdf/978-1-4020-4551-6_Sea+Level+Change,+Last+250+Million+Years_Miller_web.pdf

"NOAA sea level trend 1993 2010" by Giorgiogp2 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.