Jul 7 2005
From The Space Library
NASA scientists announced the first measurements ever taken of changes in sea level that were unrelated to changes in land height. Although researchers believed that rising sea levels were related to global warming, they were unsure of how much sea levels had changed, the degree to which sea-level changes were attributable to upward and downward land movements, and the causes of those changes. However, using data from numerous satellites, NASA scientists had discovered that global sea levels had increased during the previous 50 years, at an estimated rate of 1.8 millimeters (0.07 inches) annually, and that the rate of increase had accelerated to 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) annually in the previous 12 years. The scientists attributed half of the rise in sea levels to the expansion of water from warmer ocean temperatures and the remainder to various other sources, such as the melting of ice covers in Antarctica, Greenland, and elsewhere. (Juliet Eilperin, “NASA Able To Pinpoint Changes in Sea Levels,” Washington Post, 8 July 2005; NASA, “NASA Satellites Measure and Monitor Sea Level,” news release 05-175, 7 July 2005.)
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