U.S. scientists from the University of Colorado, using a satellite that measures variations in gravity fields to measure changes in the mass of large-ice covered areas have now determined that melting glaciers and icecaps were causing sea levels to rise an average of 0.06 inches or 1.5 mm a year, according to Reuters.
Combine this with the thermal expansion (water expands when it gets warmer) of the oceans and you get an annual global rise of 0.138 inches or 3.5 mm a year.
"That's a large number, and represents a lot of melting ice," said John Wahr of the University of Colorado in Boulder. "But it's at least 30 percent smaller than previous global estimates, none of which have used GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)," he said, referring to the name of the satellite. (via Reuters)
The GRACE satellites.
Sea levels have already risen on average about 18 centimeters since 1900, according to the report.
Alaska glaciers have been found to be one of the top contributors to global sea level rise.
A short, multiple choice quiz on global temperature change from NASA.
New research shows that glaciers in the Mount Everest region have shrunk by 13 percent over the past 50 years.....
A new in-depth analysis of peer-reviewed summaries shows an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is mostly caused by human actions....
Remote Sensing Systems has just released their global satellite measured temperatures for the month of April.
A new, computer modeling study led by NASA shows for the first time how rising CO2 concentrations could affect the entire range of rainfall types for the globe.....
Climate Change
Comments
Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.