ABSTRACT: Measuring the rate of sea level rise over the past century requires modeling the behavior of Earth's crust over the past 20 000 years.

CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Abstract

Global sea level (GSL) embodies many aspects of the global hydrological cycle and reflects the heat content of the oceans because the density of sea water depends on temperature. GSL is therefore a potent indicator of climate change and a key observational constraint on climate models. GSL is also of immense practical importance. More than 100 million people live within 1 m of the mean sea level. Rising GSL threatens the existence of some island states and deltaic coasts. Coastal wetlands are also endangered because the plants there may be unable to respond to a rate of sea-level rise much beyond what is occurring now, and they will drown if the rate increases substantially. Another threat from rising sea level is the increased erosion of sandy beaches. As a beach is lost, storm waves can more easily reach fixed structures nearby. Those waves will ultimately damage or destroy property unless expensive protective measures are taken. Unfortunately, effective coastal protection is beyond the resources of many developing countries. Compared with those of previous millennia, the changes in GSL occurring today are tiny.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology