WHY IS THE SEA LEVEL RISING?
Humans have lived on this earth for a short amount of time compared to how long earth has existed, but this species has made drastic and detrimental changes to it. Because of human’s expanse in knowledge, we have been able to make major advancements in technology like electricity and modes of transportation. These events have provided us with great advantages, but now we are starting to see the drawbacks to such technologies. Certain human activities that have taken place within the last century, such as burning fossil fuels, have contributed to global warming [1]. This is because greenhouse gas emissions that are released from these activities go into the atmosphere and trap heat, making the earth warm up [1]. A major effect with global warming is sea level rise. At first, this might not seem like a huge problem, but it has devastating effects like flooding [2].
This problem is linked to two causes, which are effects of global warming: thermal expansion and loss of ice [2]. Because of the earth getting warmer, oceans are as well. When the water gets warmer, it expands and takes up more space then it would when it’s cold, which is thermal expansion[2]. This phenomena has attributed to most of the sea level rise during the first 100 years of the Industrial Revolution, but the melting of ice has surpassed it recently[3]. Ice formations melt each summer naturally and then in the winter, snows balance out the melting that takes place earlier in the year [2]. But with higher temperatures from global warming, the ice is melting at a greater rate in the summer and snowfall is diminishing in the winter [2]. As a result, more ice is being lost and is melting into the water, which raises the sea level. This ice isn’t just melting some glaciers, but big areas such as Greenland and Antarctica because of the increased heat (2). The air being warmer doesn’t just melt the ice, but the warmer water temperatures, as well. This warmer water causes ice from giant lands like Antarctica to melt from below (2). From 1972-2008, ice loss has contributed to about half of the global sea rise, but it has increased since the 1990s (2). Because of these two major problems that stem from global warming, sea levels are rising at an alarming rate.
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Year vs Sea Level Change
because of the increased heat (2). The air being warmer doesn’t just melt the ice, but the warmer water temperatures, as well. This warmer water causes ice from giant lands like Antarctica to melt from below (2). From 1972-2008, ice loss has contributed to about half of the global sea rise, but it has increased since the 1990s (2). Because of these two major problems that
(EPA)
(Wikimedia Commons)