[Peakoil] Seas are Rising Faster than Ever: NASA

[Alex P]

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Seas are Rising Faster than Ever
Jul 8, 2005 - NASA has taken detailed measurements of global sea 
levels, and confirmed that they're rising. Not only that, the rate is 
increasing. During the last 50 years sea levels have risen .18 cm 
(.07 inches) a year, but during the last 12 years, that rate is .3 cm 
(.12 inches) a year. Part of this rise is due to the expansion of 
water as it warms up, and part of it is from increased ice cap and 
glacier melt. It's estimated that 100 million people around the world 
will be affected by a one-metre (3.3 foot) rise in sea levels.

http://www.universetoday.com/am/exec/search.cgi?
start=4&perpage=8&template=index/default.html

Full Story
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/nasa_satellite_monitor_sea_lev
el.html?872005

Seas are Rising Faster than Ever
Summary - (Jul 8, 2005) NASA has taken detailed measurements of 
global sea levels, and confirmed that they're rising. Not only that, 
the rate is increasing. During the last 50 years sea levels have 
risen .18 cm (.07 inches) a year, but during the last 12 years, that 
rate is .3 cm (.12 inches) a year. Part of this rise is due to the 
expansion of water as it warms up, and part of it is from increased 
ice cap and glacier melt. It's estimated that 100 million people 
around the world will be affected by a one-metre (3.3 foot) rise in 
sea levels.
Full Story - 
 

Artist illustration of NASA satellite measuring sea levels. Image 
credit: NASA/JPL. Click to enlarge.

For the first time, NASA has the tools and expertise to understand 
the rate at which sea level is changing, some of the mechanisms that 
drive those changes and the effects that sea level change may have 
worldwide. 

"It's estimated that more than 100 million lives are potentially 
impacted by a one-meter (3.3-foot) increase in sea level," said Dr. 
Waleed Abdalati, head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at NASA's 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "When you consider this 
information, the importance of learning how and why these changes are 
occurring becomes clear," he added. 

Although scientists have directly measured sea level since the early 
part of the 20th century, it was not known how many of the observed 
changes in sea level were real and how many were related to upward or 
downward movement of the land. Now satellites have changed that by 
providing a reference by which changes in ocean height can be 
determined regardless of what the nearby land is doing. With new 
satellite measurements, scientists are able to better predict the 
rate at which sea level is rising and the cause of that rise. 

"In the last 50 years sea level has risen at an estimated rate of .18 
centimeters (.07 inches) per year, but in the last 12 years that rate 
appears to be .3 centimeters (.12 inches) per year. Roughly half of 
that is attributed to the expansion of ocean water as it has 
increased in temperature, with the rest coming from other sources," 
said Dr. Steve Nerem, associate professor, Colorado Center for 
Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado, Boulder. 

Another source of sea level rise is the increase in ice melting. 
Evidence shows that sea levels rise and fall as ice on land grows and 
shrinks. With the new measurements now available, it's possible to 
determine the rate at which ice is growing and shrinking. 

"We've found the largest likely factor for sea level rise is changes 
in the amount of ice that covers the Earth. Three-fourths of the 
planet's freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice sheets or the 
equivalent of about 67 meters (220 feet) of sea level," said Dr. Eric 
Rignot, principal scientist for the Radar Science and Engineering 
Section at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Ice 
cover is shrinking much faster than we thought, with over half of 
recent sea level rise due to the melting of ice from Greenland, West 
Antarctica's Amundsen Sea and mountain glaciers," he said. 

Additionally, NASA scientists and partner researchers now are able to 
measure and monitor the world's waters globally in a sustained and 
comprehensive way using a combination of satellite observations and 
sensors in the ocean. By integrating the newly available satellite 
and surface data, scientists are better able to determine the causes 
and significance of current sea level changes. 

"Now the challenge is to develop an even deeper understanding of what 
is responsible for sea level rise and to monitor for possible future 
changes. That's where NASA's satellites come in, with global coverage 
and ability to examine the many factors involved," said Dr. Laury 
Miller, chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry, Washington, D.C. 

NASA works with agency partners such as the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation to 
explore and understand sea level change. Critical resources that NASA 
brings to bear on this issue include such satellites as: 

-- Topex/Poseidon and Jason, the U.S. portions of which are managed 
by JPL, which use radar to map the precise features of the oceans' 
surface, measuring ocean height and monitoring ocean circulation; 

-- Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (IceSat), which studies 
the mass of polar ice sheets and their contributions to global sea 
level change; 

-- Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (Grace), also managed by 
JPL, which maps Earth's gravitational field, allowing us to better 
understand movement of water throughout the Earth.

Original Source: NASA News Release





 
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