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According to latest Harvard studies, the sea levels have considerably increased. The past two decades have brought an enormous increase in global sea levels. The previous estimations failed to give accurate approximation about the quick increase of sea levels.
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences recently looked over the estimations made about the sea increase from 1900 until 1990. Their findings were published in “Nature” where they expressed their concern about the rate of sea level shifting.
Carling Hay and Eric Morrow, both doctors in planetary sciences, analyzed previous papers on sea development. The error rate discovered was almost 30 percent. Since last estimations rounding about 1.5 millimeters per year, the sea level has accelerated to almost 3 millimeters annually. The outstanding percentage alarmed them considering it an urgent problem.
The cause of this enormous increase is believed to be determined by the ice melting in glacier areas. The meltdown of ice sheets is a natural response to global warming. Although the warming of the environment is not news flash one must clearly understand its consequences.
Another problem are the models used to calculate sea changes. Morrow admitted that : “If we’ve been over-estimating the sea-level change during that period, it means that these models are not calibrated appropriately”. All the projections approximated in the last decades may have an accuracy problem.
As a result, a new method is to be implemented. Morrow and Hay changed their entire perspective on sea calculation. Ocean tides are periodically measured in each region. The two researchers took the information from all regions and added them. That was how the new average global estimate was achieved.
However, Hay affirmed that their calculations were only a mere approximation and not a representative value. They could not add coast lines where tide gauges occur. Therefore, wide areas of the ocean were not taken into account.
The new estimated numbers developed a new project. The two researchers wanted to detect the ocean’s trays in movement in order to establish a pattern. Taking into account all causes of the increased sea level, Hay and Morrow decided to see how much an ice sheet contributed to the acceleration.
In other words, the two doctors are trying to establish at what rate is Greenland, the Artic Pole,the Antarctic melting. After establishing the rates, they add up to ocean changing factors such as thermal expansion and they estimate the total rate of sea-level change.
Image Source: smartplanet
