The Sea Is Rising, but Not Because of Climate Change:"Of all known and imagined consequences of climate change, many people fear sea-level rise most.
But efforts to determine what causes seas to rise are marred by poor data and disagreements about methodology.
The noted oceanographer Walter Munk referred to sea-level rise as an “enigma”; it has also been called a riddle and a puzzle.
It is generally thought that sea-level rise accelerates mainly by thermal expansion of sea water, the so-called steric component.
...I chose to assess the sea-level trend from 1915-45, when a genuine, independently confirmed warming of approximately 0.5 degree Celsius occurred.
I note particularly that sea-level rise is not affected by the warming; it continues at the same rate, 1.8 millimeters a year, according to a 1990 review by Andrew S. Trupin and John Wahr.
...I therefore conclude—contrary to the general wisdom—that the temperature of sea water has no direct effect on sea-level rise.
That means neither does the atmospheric content of carbon dioxide.
This conclusion is worth highlighting: It shows that sea-level rise does not depend on the use of fossil fuels.
The evidence should allay fear that the release of additional CO2 will increase sea-level rise.
But there is also good data showing sea levels are in fact rising at an accelerating rate.
The trend has been measured by a network of tidal gauges, many of which have been collecting data for over a century.
The cause of the trend is a puzzle..."
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