As temperatures rise, the sea will absorb heat from the atmosphere, causing it to expand and therefore creating sea level rises.
Although ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could be affected by warming temperatures, it isn’t thought that they will melt significantly enough to contribute to sea level rises. If they melt over the coming one thousand years, though, due to increased temperatures, oceans could increase in depth by a number of metres. Land glaciers will continue to melt over the coming century which will increase the level of the seas.
The IPCC have stated increases for the 2080’s of from 9cm to 48cm in the ‘Low Emissions Scenarios’. This rises to 16cm to 69cm in the ‘High Emissions Scenarios’.
Some islands will be affected by sea level rises significantly and their habitats will be threatened. One example is of the small island - Tuvalu in the Pacific, which is already experiencing severe flooding which is damaging their homes and affecting their drinking water. The islanders have already started to leave and the rest will have to do so in coming years if the trend continues.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/sea_level.shtml
Image Source: http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/images/mean-sea-level-rise.gif
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