Sea Level
If global warming continues, the oceans will heat up and expand causing an increase in the level of the sea. This process is thought to be responsible for about a quarter of the sea level rise recorded during the 20th century. The melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could be another major cause of sea level rise, although it is not known precisely what contribution this makes. Sea levels have been rising by about 1 to 2 millimetres (mm) each year for the past 100 years. Current predictions suggest that the sea level may rise by another half a metre in the next 100 years.
Higher sea levels will threaten the low-lying coastal areas of the world such as the Netherlands (Holland) and Bangladesh, and many low-lying islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Some of this land currently stands only a few metres above sea level. Many important fisheries would be affected and coastal ecosystems, such as mudflats, damaged. In Britain, East Anglia and the Thames Estuary will be particularly at risk from flooding as sea levels increase.
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