Feb 12, 2018
Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era
by
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 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