R. S. Nerem, B. D. Beckley, J. T. Fasullo, B. D. Hamlington, D. Masters, G. T. Mitchum

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Published date February 12, 2018

Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era

  • States that satellite altimetry has shown that global mean sea level has been rising at a rate of ∼3 ± 0.4 millimeters per year since 1993
  • Uses the altimeter record coupled with careful consideration of interannual and decadal variability as well as potential instrument errors
  • Shows that global mean sea level rise is accelerating at a rate of 0.084 ± 0.025 millimeters per year, which agrees well with climate model projections
  • Concludes that if sea level continues to change at this rate and acceleration, sea-level rise by 2100 (∼65 centimeters) will be more than double the amount if the rate was constant at 3 millimeters per year