Past climate suggests sea levels could rise by up to 22 meters

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.