Sea level changes under increasing atmospheric CO2 in a transient coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM experiment

Abstract

Global and local sea level changes have been diagnosed from a 75-yr experiment with a version of the UK Meteorological Office coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model in which the CO2 concentration increases at 1% per year. Over the final decade, the component of mean global average sea level rise caused by thermal expansion is 90 mm; on this time scale, a significant contribution is expected from melting of mountain glaciers, but the model does not represent these. Sea level rises over practically the entire ocean area, but there is considerable variation in the magnitude, showing that the global figure by itself gives only a rough idea of the local effect; the largest rises are found in the northwest Atlantic. -from Author