PNAS - Oops! Latest Sea-Level Rise Projections Up To 1.9 Meters By 2100 - 3x Prior Estimates

[hatrack]

EDIT

The latest study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that global average sea levels are likely to rise by between 75cm and 190cm by the end of the century, due to the thermal expansion of the warmer oceans and the melting of mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets.

Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, and Martin Vermeer of Helsinki University of Technology in Finland, said sea levels are rising faster as a result of temperature increases, especially at the poles, which are warming at a faster rate than many other parts of the world.

"Since 1990, sea level has been rising at 3.4 millimetres per year, twice as fast as on average over the 20th century. Even if that rate just remained steady, this would already lead to 34 centimetres rise in the 21st century," Dr Rahmstorf said. "But the data show us clearly – the warmer it gets, the faster the sea level rises. If we want to prevent a galloping sea level rise, we should stop global warming as soon as possible," he said.

Dr Rahmstorf published a study in 2007, which came too late for including in the IPCC's fourth assessment report, suggesting that global sea levels could rise by as much as 1.4m by 2100. However, he said that this earlier study was based on previous sea level rises that had failed to take into account the extra amount of sea level – about 3cm – that would have occurred had the freshwater held back by man-made reservoirs and dams been able to flow into the sea. About two thirds of the additional 0.5m of maximum sea-level rise predicted in the latest study is due to this underestimate in previous calculations of past sea levels, Dr Rahmstorf said. The remaining third is due to refinements of the calculations producing more accurate estimates of sea level rise.

EDIT

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/sea-levels-may-rise-three-times-more-than-first-thought-1836036.html

[slackmaster]

1. I'm holding out for 65-70 meters so I can have a house near the beach

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Only if you let me and all my family move in, because we would be underwater otherwise. LOL

[slackmaster]

4. Bring beer and some 7.62x54R Soviet ammunition and I'll set you up

You can even have a vintage Mosin-Nagant rifle to help deal with the looters.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. An estimate that is too conservative by at least 200%.

The Greenland ice cap alone would raise sea levels by at least 5 meters, and it will probably be gone by 2050.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Maybe we could build a seawall out of emails?

:shrug:

[kestrel91316]

7. Or bodies of the unfortunates in Bangladesh.....

[kestrel91316]

6. My prediction: they're gonna need a bigger measuring stick.

Apologies to Jaws.