Sea Level Rise : History and Consequences

Sea Level Rise, History and Consequences includes a special emphasis on the evidence for historical sea level change; case studies are used to demonstrate the resulting consequences. A CD-ROM is included which contain tide gauge data and trends of relative sea level from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level. The material on the CD-ROM is either in the form of text files, or web sites that can be opened by widely available web-browsers.

Sea level is expected to rise as much as 60-100 centimeters over the next century due to greenhouse-induced global warming -- or at least that is what the some scientists predict. However, the concept of sea level is extremely complex, which makes the prediction of sea level rise anything but certain. The reviewers are in consensus in enthusiastically endorsing this comprehensive book and CD-ROM treatment.

This book will be a comprehensive review of the subject using the data themselves (on CD-ROM) to illustrate the principles involved, rather than detailed mathematical treatments. The book should be readily accessible to upper division and first-year graduate students in the environmental sciences, geography, geology, and other interdisciplinary fields. Four pages (up to 16 pages) of color in the printed text.

The book will have wide appeal. It will be read by geologists, geophysicists, climatologists, oceanographers, meteorologists, environmental scientists, geomorphologists, coastal engineers, and policy makers in all of these fields.

This is a welcome compilation of what is known about sea level, by the people who have done the definitive work."
Walter Munk, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
"Â…a highly readable study of the subject which is likely to be quoted and referred to for quite some years."
Rhodes W. Fairbridge, Columbia University


An increase in sea level is one of the more feared and certain consequences of global warming. Beach erosion, increased vulnerability to coastal storms, flooding, and accelerated ecosystem destruction inevitably accompany an increase in sea level. At special risk are the 100 million persons living within a meter of present-day mean sea level and the coastal development valued in the trillions of dollars. Sea Level Rise: History and Consequences surveys the history of sea level change since the last deglaciation began approximately 20,000 years ago, when global sea level was about 125 meters lower than now. Topics covered include sea level as an elevation reference, historic and modern sea level measurements including satellite techniques, the earth's response to the melting of the great glaciers, and how sea level rise in the 20th century has impacted coastal habitability. This volume provide a substantial survey of the surprisingly complex topic of sea level change for professionals and students of the earth and environmental sciences.

"This is a welcome compilation of what is known about sea level, by the people who have done the definitive work. The book considers separately the last 20,000 years when sea level was dominated by glacial melting, the last milennium, and the last century when recording tide gauges became available. Glacial melting now contributes less than 20%, the present rate of 1.9mm/year is dominated by thermal expansion. We are heading into an age where human activities (global warming, ground water extraction) might be the dominant factor. Satellite altimetry will become a dominant observational tool. All this conspires to make the book a timely contribution."