Uneven Global Sea-Level Rise Could Drastically Impact Some Regions

"The Day After Tomorrow" may be unrealistic as far as sea-level rise goes, but there could be some devastating consequences over the next few decades if a new computer model is correct. Scientists have found that sea level rise will affect some regions far more than others; the Pacific may see some of the highest rates of rise while some polar regions will actually experience falls.

The new findings, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, looked ahead to the year 2100 in order to see how ice loss will add to rising sea levels. Although scientists have known for quite some time that different areas will experience different levels of sea rise, this study is the first to examine the details of the phenomenon.

The team, which included researchers from Italy's University Urbina and the UK's University of Bristol, found that ice melt from glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could be crucial for understand sea-level rise on a regional level. They looked at three main effects that could lead to the rising sea levels, including land subsiding and emerging due to massive loss of ice, the warming of the oceans which may lead to a major redistribution of water across the globe and the sheer mass of water held in the ice at the frozen continents like Antarctica that may cause a change in gravitational pull as it melts.

The researchers plugged all of these factors into a computer model where they considered two scenarios. One of them was "most likely" or "mid-range" while the other was closer to the upper limit of what could happen. They found that the total rise in some areas of the equatorial oceans could be as much as two feet when using the more conservative model. In particular, Hawaii, Western Australia and Oceania were drastically affected.

It's crucial to understand exactly how sea-level rise could affect the globe. With major cities in the U.S. positioned along the coastline, it's only a matter of time before flooding during storms could cause major issues. Only by researching these effects and where they'll occur can scientists understand the risks and help the public prepare for the future.