A new analysis of altimeter data, collected since 1992 from multiple American/European satellites, reveals that the pace of sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. The new evidence suggests this effect is driven mainly by polar ice melting at increased rates in Greenland and Antarctica, just one of the many consequences of climate change.
If the rate continues unchanged, the study estimates sea level will rise 65 cm (26 inches) by 2100, double what was previously estimated from constant-rate projections. But Steve Nerem, lead author of the study, warns that this is most probably a conservative estimate. "Our extrapolation assumes that sea level continues to change in the future as it has over the last 25 years," he says. "Given the large changes we are seeing in the ice sheets today, that's not likely."
Read more here:
"New Study Finds Sea Level Rise Accelerating" at JPL-NASA
Original study here:
"Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era" at PNAS