'Melting glaciers' (Photo : Reuters)
Sea levels around the world are rising at a faster pace than previously studied and according to scientists, melting ice sheets and glaciers near Earth's poles are causing it.
Published in the Nature Climate Change journal on May 11, Monday, the research showed that the sea-level rise rate has appeared to have accelerated in the past decade and a half. This is the same period when scientists were able to document a rapid ice masses retreat, specifically in West Antarctica and Greenland.
The findings seem to contradict previous studies which suggest that in the recent years, the sea levels are rising in a slowed-down rate.
Scientists from Australia were able to detect the significant increase through their analysis of decades of records from subtle land formations and shits, water level changes, and tidal gauges around the globe.
With the use of more accurate measurements, the researchers found out that scientists have overstated the rise in sea-level, specifically during the 90s and underestimated the increase rate happening in 1999.
Christopher Watson, the lead author and geodesist from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, said that the adjusted statistics revealed that ocean level are rising at a rate of 2.9 millimeters each year for the past 20 years. Apparently, this rate is consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's projections.
"The acceleration is also consistent with what we expect, given the increasing contributions from the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets," the Wall Street Journal quoted Watson as saying.
While the rise is scientifically insignificant, what is clear is that the sea levels are increasing, doubling last century's average rate. More than anything else, this has got a significant implication for all coastal cities all over the world, Watson said.
