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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Published on: June 13, 2020

Global sea level and Earth rotation.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|May 13, 1988

Summary

Global sea level is rising over 1 millimeter per year. New data suggest this rise may be explained by melting ice sheets and glaciers, particularly if the Barents Sea was ice-covered 18,000 years ago.

Area of Science:

Geophysics
Glaciology
Oceanography

Background:

Tide gauge data indicate a global sea level rise exceeding 1 millimeter per year.
The nonsteric component of sea level rise may be attributed to mass loss from glaciers and ice sheets.
Understanding ice sheet dynamics is crucial for predicting future sea level changes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the plausibility of ongoing ice mass loss as a driver of observed sea level rise.
To utilize satellite geodetic data to constrain models of ice sheet behavior.

Main Methods:

Analysis of long-term secular variations in sea level using tide gauge observations.
Application of satellite laser ranging (SLR) and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data.
Correlation of geodetic data (length of day, polar motion) with ice mass balance scenarios.

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Main Results:

Sea level is rising at a rate greater than 1 millimeter per year globally.
Satellite geodetic data provide constraints on the hypothesis of ice mass loss.
The mass loss hypothesis is plausible if the Barents Sea hosted a significant ice sheet during the last glacial maximum.

Conclusions:

Ongoing mass loss from the world's ice sheets and glaciers is a plausible explanation for the observed nonsteric sea level rise.
Satellite geodetic measurements offer critical insights into the dynamics of ice sheets and their contribution to sea level change.
Reconstruction of past ice sheet extent, such as in the Barents Sea, is vital for validating current climate and sea level models.