A consistent link exists between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level, resulting in a greater rate of sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast than that of the past 2,000 years, says an international research team.
Sea-level rise is a potentially disastrous outcome of climate change, as rising temperatures melt land-based iced and warm ocean waters, says Benjamin Horton, associate professor and director of the Sea Level Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania.
Horton and Andrew Kemp, fellow postdoctoral now at Yale Universitys Climate and Energy Institute conducted the research which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 20.
The team constructed a new 2,000-year history of seal level elevations, which will help scientists refine the models currently used to predict climate-change-induced sea level rise.
By combining the sea level changes through time with the already established temperature record for the past 1,000 years, researchers were able to create a model that is partly based on observations, and matches what occurred historically. Future changes in sea level can therefore be predicted.
Results from the study showed that sea level was relatively stable from 200 B.C. to 1,000 A.D.
Sea level rose by almost half a millimeter a year for 400 years starting in the 11th century, known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly, when the climate started to warm, say researchers.
Then a second period of stable sea level associated with a cooler period known as the Little Ice Age occurred and lasted until the late 19th Century.
The study says that since the 19th Century, sea level has risen by more than 2 millimeters per year on average, which is considered the steepest rate for more than 2,100 years.
Increasing Temperatures Linked To Rapid Sea Level Rise - Science News - redOrbit
Sea-level rise is a potentially disastrous outcome of climate change, as rising temperatures melt land-based iced and warm ocean waters, says Benjamin Horton, associate professor and director of the Sea Level Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania.
Horton and Andrew Kemp, fellow postdoctoral now at Yale Universitys Climate and Energy Institute conducted the research which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 20.
The team constructed a new 2,000-year history of seal level elevations, which will help scientists refine the models currently used to predict climate-change-induced sea level rise.
By combining the sea level changes through time with the already established temperature record for the past 1,000 years, researchers were able to create a model that is partly based on observations, and matches what occurred historically. Future changes in sea level can therefore be predicted.
Results from the study showed that sea level was relatively stable from 200 B.C. to 1,000 A.D.
Sea level rose by almost half a millimeter a year for 400 years starting in the 11th century, known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly, when the climate started to warm, say researchers.
Then a second period of stable sea level associated with a cooler period known as the Little Ice Age occurred and lasted until the late 19th Century.
The study says that since the 19th Century, sea level has risen by more than 2 millimeters per year on average, which is considered the steepest rate for more than 2,100 years.
Increasing Temperatures Linked To Rapid Sea Level Rise - Science News - redOrbit
