Rutgers
University: According to
research
published in
Geology by Kenneth Miller and colleagues at Rutgers
University, global warming could cause sea levels to rise as
much as 12–22 meters above present levels. The
researchers based their assessment on studies of the late
Pliocene epoch, some 2.7 million to 3.2 million years
ago, when atmospheric temperatures were 2 °C warmer
than current temperatures and the atmospheric carbon dioxide
level was similar to today's. Such a dramatic sea level rise
will take centuries to millennia, however, because it will
require the melting of large ice sheets. "The current
trajectory for the 21st century global rise of sea level is 2
to 3 feet (0.8 to 1 meter) due to warming of the
oceans, partial melting of mountain glaciers, and partial
melting of Greenland and Antarctica," said Miller. Besides the
environmental impact, a rise in sea level will have economic
effects as well. Sara Reardon, writing for
New Scientist,
reports
that the impact of climate change on the world's oceans could
cost as much as $2 trillion by the end of the
century.
