Local Sea Level Rise- one of the trickiest predictions. In my last post (http://on.fb.me/1advPiu) I

Local Sea Level Rise- one of the trickiest predictions. In my last post (http://on.fb.me/1advPiu) I mentioned that sea level rise from Antarctica melting would not be distributed equally throughout the globe, and in the coming posts I’ll explain why. Currently, most of sea level rise is due to thermal expansion caused by warming of the oceans, the remainder coming from melting ice and reduction of liquid water storage on land.In the latest IPCC report, it has been suggested that sea level may rise up to a meter by 2100. This prediction is assuming that Antarctic Ice Shelves remain stable, which may not be the case (see our previous post: http://on.fb.me/1yuE5jq). The latest IPCC report has also predicted that it is very likely that over 95% of the world’s ocean surface will rise…but what about the other 5%? Those surfaces are most likely near current and former glaciers and ice sheets. Sea level rise will be experienced very differently in different parts of the world, with deviations up to 50% from the global mean sea level projection.Antarctica and Greenland hold the vast majority of earths freshwater and are also contributors to sea level rise. A common belief is that melting of these vast ice caps would result in uniform sea level rise. This is not the case – models have shown that such melting can actually cause a decrease in relative sea level around these regions. There are two main reasons behind this; the first one is gravity.These ice caps (Antarctica especially) are so massive that their gravitational force pulls water towards them, much like the moon does with the ocean. This effect results in sea levels higher than they would be otherwise for thousands of kilometers around them, which means lower sea levels elsewhere. As they shrink, their gravitational pull weakens, which also lessens their hold on the surrounding water which leads to higher sea levels elsewhere.To put some numbers on this, a researcher from Harvard calculated that if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed and melted, the global mean sea level rise would be up to 5m, however it would be approximately 6.5m in various cities in the USA, and less in other areas. The image depicts findings from a 2012 paper by Sallenger and others, showing the distribution of sea level rise across the United States of America.-MJAImage credit: Sallenger et al., 2012.Further reading/references:IPCC on sea level rise: http://bit.ly/1CrvtOkhttp://bit.ly/1CrvtOkhttp://bit.ly/1nddrecSallenger Jr, A. H., Doran, K. S., & Howd, P. A. (2012). Hotspot of accelerated sea-level rise on the Atlantic coast of North America. Nature Climate Change, 2(12), 884-888.[__](https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/photos/a.352867368107647/856257781101934/?type=1&theater#) -- source link

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