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Understanding Sea Level Rise Causes & Effects

This document presents information on sea level rise, including its causes and effects. The main causes discussed are thermal expansion of water as temperatures rise, melting of land ice from Greenland and Antarctica, and melting of Arctic sea ice. Effects include loss of populated land areas, increased flooding, erosion, and damage to agriculture and infrastructure. Future projections estimate a sea level rise of over 1 meter by 2100, which would flood many major coastal cities. Proposed solutions include reducing carbon emissions and building coastal barriers, but sea level rise is an ongoing problem with potentially catastrophic environmental and economic impacts.

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76 views18 pages

Understanding Sea Level Rise Causes & Effects

This document presents information on sea level rise, including its causes and effects. The main causes discussed are thermal expansion of water as temperatures rise, melting of land ice from Greenland and Antarctica, and melting of Arctic sea ice. Effects include loss of populated land areas, increased flooding, erosion, and damage to agriculture and infrastructure. Future projections estimate a sea level rise of over 1 meter by 2100, which would flood many major coastal cities. Proposed solutions include reducing carbon emissions and building coastal barriers, but sea level rise is an ongoing problem with potentially catastrophic environmental and economic impacts.

Uploaded by

omarans
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Sea Level Rise

Presented

By: OMAR ABOU NOUH

To: Dr. Mahmoud Halablab

March 8, 2010
Outline
Overview
Causes of the rise
Effects of the rise
Future sea level rise
Solutions
Conclusion
Introduction
• Sea level rise is one of the major
consequences of climate change.
• Sea level has risen by about 20 cm between
1870 and 2001
• Sea level rate over the last 20 years is faster
than the rate was 115 years ago by about 25%.
• Recent studies estimate a rise in sea level to
more than 1 meter by the year 2100.
Causes of the rise
 Thermal Expansion:

1. Water expands because of the higher


temperature water.
2. Half of the sea level rise is related to thermal
expansion.
3. Thermal expansion alone causes sea level to rise
by 20 cm by 2100.
 Land ice melt:

1. Land ice is present on Greenland and Antarctica.


2. The melting of mountain glaciers along with
thermal expansion causes sea level to rise by
about 70 meters.
 Arctic sea ice melt:

Water absorbs heat, which cause sea ice to melt


which affects the sea level.
Greenhouse gases (G.H.G):

The G.H.G. (CO2, methane and other gases)


and sea level are not directly related, but
because the greenhouse gases are warming
the earth the ice bergs are melting.
The Greenhouse Effect
Incoming Solar
2
Radiation 343 W/m

Long-wave Radiation
2
Reflected Solar 240 W/m
2
Radiation 103 W/m

CO2 CH4,
N2O, O3,
“Blanket” of Greenhouse Gases Water
vapour,
aerosols,
clouds

Earth’s ground temperature, approx 13oC with greenhouse


effect, approx ­ 20oC without it. Doubling CO2 increases
temperature by between 1.5oC and 4oC.
Global warming:

Similarly to G.H.G, global warming


affects the ice bergs and cause it to
melt, so sea level rise occurs.
 Other factors:

1. Change in water storage


2. Ground water extraction
3. Deforestation
4. Air pressure
5. Air temperature
6. Wind speed
Effects of the rise
Loss of population due to submerged countries
Increased coastal erosion.
Increased flood risk.
Changes in surface water quality.
Impacts on agriculture and aquaculture.
Loss of tourism, recreation, and transportation
functions.
Migration.
social and economical conflicts.
Future sea level rise
Homeless people.
The Maldives will be uninhabitable by
2100.
Major cities like Los Angeles, London,
and Tokyo will be flooded as sea level
rises.
Solutions
Cooling the planet by extracting
carbon dioxide.
Stabilizing the emissions of
greenhouse gases.
Building and upgrading barriers (for
defense).
Conclusion
Sea level rise is happening at any time.
Sea level will results in catastrophic effects on the
environment and on human beings.
We should provide and encourage planning for
this problem.
Finally,
References
[Link]
Overview_of_sea-level_change.
IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical
Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M.
Manning (Eds.)].

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