The Global Sea Levels are rising at an alarming rate, much faster than previously thought according to a new analysis which highlights what climate scientists have been warning for years –impact of melting ice sheets and glaciers near the earth poles.
Analyzing the data obtained from satellites, scientists have painted a bleak picture of our future. It seems the sea levels are rising at a faster rate than earlier thought. It means that mankind is much closer to living in Kevin Costner’s Water world much earlier than presumed. Scientists compared data of satellite records of sea level from 1993 to 2014 and contrary to popular beliefs, the sea levels are rising at a much faster pace.
The IPCC or the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the Global Mean Sea Level rose by 7.6 inches from 1901 to 2010, about 0.06 of an inch per year. This has now accelerated to 0.12 inches per year between 1993 and 2010, according to the IPCC. Another study however negated the IPCC finding and showed that the sea levels are not rising as fast as claimed by IPCC. The latest study confirmed that indeed the sea levels are rising at a very fast pace.
The latest figures add credence to IPCC claims that sea levels are indeed rising at a fast rate due to melting polar ice caps caused by global warming.
Previous studies based on have suggested a slowing in the rate of sea level rise over the past decade relative to the one before it.
Watson, senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania said, “That was a puzzle because it coincides with a period where we’ve got increasing water from West Antarctica and Greenland.”
However when the hourly tide gauge data were compared with the satellite data suggests that sea levels have risen faster since 1993 as compared to the slower rates in previous decades.