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EOS, TRANSACTIONS AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION, VOL. 88, NO. 4, doi:10.1029/2007EO040008, 2007

Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability

John Church

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research,Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Hobart, Australia
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Hobart, Australia


Stan Wilson

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md., USA


Philip Woodworth

Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Liverpool, Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level, Liverpool, U.K.


Thorkild Aarup

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO, Paris, France


Abstract

The coastal zone changed considerably during the twentieth century due to growing populations and increasing urbanization. A recent study indicated that in 1990, 23% of the world's population (1.2 billion people) were living within both a 100-kilometer distance and a 100-meter elevation of the coast at densities 3 times higher than the global average. Society is becoming increasingly vulnerable to sea level extremes, as Hurricane Katrina demonstrated. Rising levels will result in more flooding, even if storm intensities do not increase. Improved understanding of the reasons for sea level rise and variability is required to reduce the uncertainties in sea level rise projections, and this improved understanding could contribute to more effective coastal planning and management.

Published 23 January 2007.

Index Terms: 1641 Global Change: Sea level change (1222, 1225, 4556); 1616 Global Change: Climate variability (1635, 3305, 3309, 4215, 4513); 1645 Global Change: Solid Earth (1225).

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Citation: Church, J., S. Wilson, P. Woodworth, and T. Aarup (2007), Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(4), doi:10.1029/2007EO040008.