global sea level rise

New analysis looks at human-caused global sea level rise and coastal flooding.

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Global Sea Level Rise by Century

  • Feb 23, 2016

By Climate Central

Human-caused climate change has been contributing to global sea level rise for decades. As a result, coastal flooding is also on the rise. A new analysis from Climate Central, together with other organizations, looks at human-caused global sea level rise’s influence on increasing coastal flood days in the U.S. 

This research uses the NOAA nuisance flood thresholds (each threshold is locally defined but described as a coastal flood level that closes coastal roads, overwhelms storm drains, and compromises infrastructure). 

Methodology

The analysis assumes that the climate-driven human contribution to sea level rise is spread evenly across global oceans, discounting localized effects. Some evidence suggests that the human contribution may have a greater impact than average along the U.S. Atlantic coast, where around 70 percent of study tide gauges are concentrated. A full methodology is in the report.

 

This originally appeared on Climate Central.