Sea Level Rise | Latest Burning Issues 2018

Table of Contents

• The rate of sea level rise resulting from the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has tripled over the past five years, according to new research from a global team of scientists.

 The sea level has and continues to fluctuate greatly throughout time. On a day to day basis, the sea level changes according to the tide but the sea level also changes on a much
grander time scale too. These changes in sea level are normally caused by ice ages or other major global events.

 The sea level changes for a variety of reasons. These reasons can be put into two categories, eustatic and isostatic change, depending on if they have a global effect on sea level or a local effect on the sealevel.

 Eustatic change iswhen the sea level changesdue to an alteration in the volume of water in the oceans or, alternatively, a change in the shape of an ocean basin and hence a change in the amount of water the sea can hold. Eustatic change is always a globaleffect.

 Isostatic sea level change is the result of an increase or decrease in the height of the land. When the height of the land increases, the sea level falls and when the height of the land decreases the sea level rises. Isostatic change is a local sea level change whereas eustatic change is a global sea level change.

 Isostatic sea level change can also be caused by tectonic uplift or depression. As this only takes place along plate boundaries, this sortof isostatic change only takes place in
certain areas of the world

IMPACT

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Traditional defensive approaches–such as building sea walls and levees, or replenishing sand along eroded beaches–can help protect against flooding and damage but may not provide adequate or sustainable long-term protection.

Maintaining or restoring natural buffers, such as barrier islands, tidal wetlands, and mangroves, can also help defend coastlines.

Measures like elevating and flood-proofing structures can help accommodate temporary flooding and gradual inundation.
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To limit the long-term risks of sea level rise and the costs of adapting to it, we must work toward deep reductions in the global warming emissions that are the primary cause of
rising sea levels.