Recent global changes in sealevel

Abstract

Tide gauge records indicate that a global rise in sealevel has occurred over the past 80 years at a rate of about 1.5 mm yr−1. Because of the poor geographical distribution of the tide gauges, this rise may be partly a consequence of a redistribution of water in the oceans without there being an increase in volume of the oceans. A principal contribution to this redistribution arises from the ongoing rebound of the crust to the melting of the Pleistocene ice sheets, a contribution that is of global significance even far from the limits of the original ice sheets. Model calculations indicate that this contribution may explain between 30 and 50% of the published estimates of the secular rise in sealevel. Copyright 1984 by the American Geophysical Union.