As global warming increased the water vapor content of the atmosphere, and thus increased precipitation, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was considered to grow due to increased snowfall, contributing to a fall in global mean sea level.
It is a graph obtained by converting the global average annual sea level height based on 0.0mm sea level height in 1880. It can be seen that it is gradually rising based on 0.0mm in 1880. In 2013, the average annual sea level increased by 226.4mm compared to 1880, and in 2012, it was the highest at 234.8mm compared to 1880. Since 1880, the field data of the coastal checkpoint have been indicated by a blue line, and the error range (sky blue) is about 0.5mm.
Sea Level Rise
- Increased heat storage raises the water temperature, resulting in thermal expansion of sea water. Therefore, the ocean heat storage is a major factor for the mean sea-level rise related to global warming.
- Another major factor for sea-level rise is melting of land-based ice.
- Greenland Ice Sheet and West Antartica Ice Sheet are two major dangers of future sea-level rise, and GIS has a potential to cause a 7m of sea-level rise, which is considered to happen when a certain increased temperature continues exist around Greenland.