Climate change

Satellite Snafu Masked True Sea Level Rise for Decades

Credit: Joe Raedle Getty Images

The numbers didn’t add up. Even as Earth grew warmer and glaciers and ice sheets thawed , decades of satellite data seemed to show that the rate of sea-level rise was holding steady—or even declining. Now, after puzzling over this discrepancy for years, scientists have identified its source: a problem with the calibration of a sensor on the first of several satellites launched to measure the height of the sea surface using radar.

Adjusting the data to remove that error suggests that sea levels are indeed rising at faster rates each year. “The rate of sea-level rise is increasing, and that increase is basically what we expected,” says Steven Nerem, a remote-sensing expert at the University of Colorado Boulder who is leading the reanalysis. He presented the as-yet-unpublished analysis on 13 July in New York City at a conference sponsored by the World Climate Research Programme and the International Oceanographic Commission, among others. Nerem’s team calculated that the rate of sea-level rise increased from around 1.8 millimetres per year in 1993 to roughly 3.9 millimetres per year today as a result of global warming. In addition to the satellite calibration error, his analysis also […]

More about sea-level rise, coastal flooding and more:

From Atlantic City to Key West: 21 beach towns that will soon be under water

Final call to save the world from ‘climate catastrophe’

Three newspapers confront one challenge: Sea-level rise is real

Fast and Getting Faster: The Verdict on Sea Level Rise from the Latest National Climate Assessment

Water World: Sea Level Rise, Coastal Floods and Storm Surges

The lesser-known threat from sea-level rise? Saltwater intrusion into Florida’s freshwater wells.

‘Sunny day flooding’ worsens at NC beaches — a sign sea rise is decades too soon

Also see glaciers:

Glacier depth affects plankton blooms off Greenland

Interfaith Leaders From Across The World Pledge To Protect Rivers, Glaciers

No glaciers, no water?

First the Arctic melted, then Bolivian water dried up, then…

Recent Posts

LA River restoration connects us back to ‘the life force of our city’

Los Angeles residents at a section of the Los Angeles River cleanup in Los Angeles,…

2 days ago

LAist: New study raises questions about heavy metals in fire retardants

Over the past decade, about 67 million gallons of fire retardant have been dropped on…

2 days ago

Meadow and watershed restoration in the Golden Trout Wilderness

Photo: Golden Trout Wilderness Seeking blue, seeing gold The Kern Plateau features a chain of…

3 days ago

First sighting of salmon in 100 years marks key milestone for California dam removal

For the first time in more than a century, a salmon was observed swimming through Klamath…

1 week ago

Developing state water roadmaps is essential

New turnout facility from the California Aqueduct on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Officials say the…

2 weeks ago

Migration Matters: Breaking Down Barriers to Migration

Over the past century, humans have constructed major transportation infrastructure like highways, bridges, railroads, and…

3 weeks ago