Sea Level Change

Two characteristics of climate change are resulting in sea level rise. First, the melting of ice sheets and glaciers on land are adding more water to the oceans. Second, ocean temperatures are increasing, leading to ocean thermal expansion. For more than 20 years, NASA has been tracking the global surface topography of the ocean to understand the important role it plays in our daily lives. A suite of increasingly sophisticated instruments, deployed across the oceans, on polar ice, and in orbit, reveal significant changes among globally interlocking factors that are driving sea levels higher. Since 1880, the global sea level has risen 8 inches; by 2100, it is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet.