New Study Finds Scientists Have Been Underestimating Global Sea Level Rise

Scientists recently discovered that studies have been significantly underestimating global sea level rise across the world, highlighting possibly deadly consequences.

The new study highlights the misinterpretation of global sea levels by scientists over the last few decades. According to their research, less than 1% of recent studies have correctly estimated current sea levels due to their reliance on an old satellite mapping model.

The old model, which combines satellite mapping with estimations of global sea levels based on Earth's gravitational field, has incorrectly been relied on for more than 99% of recent studies on climate change, spelling dangerous consequences for the world. These estimations can be off by as much as several feet due to its inability to account for other factors like winds, currents, tides, and water temperatures.

According to the new data, areas around the Equator – particularly the regions of Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania – are at a much higher risk of sea level rise than previously estimated. Across the globe, sea levels are around one foot higher than scientists thought. In some parts of Southeast Asia, water levels are more than three feet higher than scientists believed them to be, putting millions more lives in danger as polar ice melts and global ocean levels continue their upward trend.

Currently, over 300 million people live in areas that are at risk of coastal flooding by 2050, with many of those people residing in low-lying areas across South and Southeast Asia. With the inclusion of this new data, 37% more land would be submerged– this means that around 132 million more people could face those risks, and the impacts would occur sooner than previously thought.

Climate scientists have confirmed that work is already underway to re-evaluate the world's current position on sea level rise and climate change with this new data. The new study essentially means that the world is much farther down the line than previously thought, but the primary threat of sea level rise as a whole remains imminent– it remains imperative that we attempt to stop climate change and global warming through whatever efforts necessary, or the consequences could be deadly.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): On April 1, 2005, NASA pulled an April Fool’s prank telling the world that they had found water on Mars. The associated image, rather than a real photo of Mars, pictured a cup of water atop a Mars chocolate bar, conveying that the message was a joke.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Everything you have in this world is just borrowed for a short time. (Welsh Proverb)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Ad hoc (adj, AD-HOCK) - Ad hoc describes something that is formed or used for a special purpose, or that is made or done without planning because of an immediate need.

In a Sentence: An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter.

Image credit to SDMRI