Global sea levels set to rise
Using computer models that linked temperatures with data on sea levels for the past 2,000 years, Finnish oceanographer Svetlana Jevrejeva, from the Proudman Oceanographical Laboratory in Liverpool, predicted that global sea levels could rise by up to 1.5 metres by the end of the century – significantly higher than the IPCC’s forecast of 28–43 centimetres.
Announcing her findings at the European Geosciences Union’s annual conference in Vienna, Austria, Jevrejeva said: ‘For the past 2,000 years, the sea level has been very stable, but the pace at which sea levels are rising [now] is accelerating, and they will be between 0.8 and 1.5 metres higher by next century.’
Africa and Asia are expected to be hardest hit by a rise of this magnitude, as many nations don’t have the infrastructure or means to create effective flood defences.
June 2008
Announcing her findings at the European Geosciences Union’s annual conference in Vienna, Austria, Jevrejeva said: ‘For the past 2,000 years, the sea level has been very stable, but the pace at which sea levels are rising [now] is accelerating, and they will be between 0.8 and 1.5 metres higher by next century.’
Africa and Asia are expected to be hardest hit by a rise of this magnitude, as many nations don’t have the infrastructure or means to create effective flood defences.
June 2008
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