Human Contribution to Rising Global Temperatures and Rising Sea Levels

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Meteorology, Aeronomy, Climatology, grade: A, University of Massachusetts Boston, language: English, abstract: The causes of rising sea levels is in a state of continuous debate, but increasing scientific research suggests that human activity is at least partial, if not the predominate cause of the rapid rise in ocean levels worldwide. High concentrations of CO2 and other GHGs released into the atmosphere from human consumption, industrialization and manufacturing attribute to rising global temperatures, which is in turn absorbed by the sea, causing the warming and expansion of oceans. The detrimental effects of warming oceanic temperatures is multifaceted. It leads to ocean freshening as a result of melting glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic, which raises sea levels and it negatively impact on the survival of humans, flora, fauna and marine ecosystem. Furthermore, higher temperatures in global seas attribute to thermal expansion and eustatic rise, which is a key cause behind why the oceans are taking up more of the Earth's surface. Thermal expansion also causes irreversible degradation of biodiversity and human habitat in coastal areas. Thus, this paper will explore how intensive human activity contributes to climate change which heats up sea temperatures and lead to ocean expansion and rising shore levels around the globe.