Sea Level Assignment PDF

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Geography 205 – Sea Level Change 1) 6.62 mm/y 2) 2.21 mm/y 3) 9.03 mm/y 4)143.8 km 5) 39.9 km 6) .63 km 7) 35.2 km 8) 2.07 km 9) 0.48 m 10) Since 1880, sea levels have risen by 8 inches and sea levels are currently rising on average of 3.2 mm per year. Over the next one hundred years, sea levels are expected to rise by one to four feet. Rising sea levels are cause primarily by thermal expansion and the increased inflow of water due to melting glaciers and ice. The rising sea levels are climatically driven by the increasing temperature on Earth and other physical forces. Thermal expansion is a naturally occurring process in the ocean because heat is trapped in the deep ocean. The water warms and expands and the sea level rises as a result. Sea levels are not always constant in the ocean. Movement of tectonic plates in the ocean floor as well as variations in ocean currents can cause differences in the distribution of ocean water creating a relative increase or decrease in sea level depending on different situations. The Earth has dramatically warmed over the last century due to both climate change and human behavior. The oceans absorb 80% of the additional heat. Rising sea level is culturally primed by human activity and behavior. As society becomes more industrialized and the population increases, fossil fuel are consumed at a higher rate releasing larger amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, specifically carbon dioxide. Increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are then trapped in the atmosphere causing an increase in concentration of gases in the atmosphere which causes temperatures to increase. Since 1880, the average global temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. As the temperature in the atmosphere rises, so does the Earth’s temperature. Rising temperatures of the atmosphere and Earth have caused the ocean temperatures to rise by 10% over the last century. As water temperature rises, it expands in a process known as thermal expansion. As global temperatures rise, ice and glaciers are melting at an increasing rate. Every year more ice is melting and glaciers are sinking at an accelerating rate. Increase melting causes a greater amount of run off into lakes, rivers, and the ocean and a decreased level of evaporation. The water that was once frozen has now turned into water and increases the water and sea levels. Increasing sea levels are a major issue for the four million people in the United States who live on the coasts. As the sea levels increase, they reach farther inland causing more erosion, flooding, and destruction....