Sea Level Rise: Concerns For Management Of Land And Freshwater Resources ... An Overview

摘要

For those involved in the management of freshwater resources, sea level rise can appear to be the least problematic of the impacts of climate change. For many, in the short term, this is probably a correct assumption. Sea level over recent geologic times has fluctuated greatly. During the last interglacial period, global mean sea level was 4 to 6 m higher than today, and some evidence points to a rise as high as 10 m. Looking back at the last 500 million years and taking into account long term geologic processes changing the shape of ocean basins, sea level has been as much as 200 m higher than today, with some studies pointing to a possible mean global level over 400 m higher. For most of us, this is interesting but not particularly relevant. The here and now, and the near term future is where our interests lie.