Sea level rise

Sea level rise is the long-term increase in the average height of the ocean surface, driven mainly by warming seawater and water added from melting land ice.

Thermal expansion: An increase in a substance’s volume as its temperature rises. Warming seawater expands, raising ocean level without adding water.
Mean sea level: The average height of the sea surface over a specified period and location. Sea level rise describes a change in this averaged reference quantity.
Coastal flooding: The inundation of normally dry coastal land by seawater. A higher baseline makes damaging coastal floods more frequent and extensive.
Climate change: Long-term shifts in climate patterns, including changes driven by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Human-caused warming drives the principal global processes raising sea level.
Glacier mass balance: The difference between mass gained and mass lost by a glacier over a period. When glaciers lose more mass than they gain, meltwater flows into the ocean.
Global mean sea level: The average sea-surface height across the world ocean, usually tracked over time. Global trends summarize ocean-wide change while smoothing local variation.
Storm surge: An abnormal rise in coastal water level driven primarily by a storm’s winds and pressure. Sea-level rise adds to storm-driven water levels during coastal extremes.
Ocean warming: A long-term increase in the ocean’s temperature. The ocean stores most excess climate heat, contributing to thermal expansion.
Ice-sheet mass balance: The difference between mass gained and mass lost by an ice sheet over a period. Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheet losses add water and raise global mean sea level.
Relative sea level: The height of the sea surface measured relative to the adjacent land. Coastal impacts depend on water height relative to land, which may also move.

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