Rising Sea Levels June 2014 | Page 3

The Causes

Why is the sea level rising?

Keep reading to find out.

There is incontrovertible evidence that the sea level is rising. There are a number of causes that attribute to the increase of sea level, including the greenhouse gas effect. This effect occurs naturally, but humans have contributed immensely to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thus raising the temperature of the troposphere. Measurements show that global average sea level has been rising for at least a century. Since 1993, it's risen about 3.1 millimeters per year(6). The increase in temperature is partly due to glaciers melting, especially glaciers that are based on land. However, more than half the rise is due to "thermal expansion" from warming oceans. In the next two pages, we will explore the causes further.