Sea Level Predictions

Observed sea level rise since 1970 from tide gauge data (red) and satellite measurements (blue) compared to model projections for 1990-2010 from the IPCC Third Assessment Report (grey band).  Sea level rises mainly as a result of melting land ice and thermal expansion of ocean water as temperatures rise.  Observed sea level is tracking at the upper range of the IPCC projections.  (Source: The Copenhagen Diagnosis, 2009)

Note: A version of this graphic without the added text can be found here.

SkS Resources that use this Graphic

• How Much Will Sea Levels Rise in the 21st Century?
• How Reliable are Climate Models? (basic)
• How Reliable are Climate Models? (intermediate)
• How the IPCC is More Likely to Underestimate the Climate Response
• The Physical Realities of Global Warming
• Climate Scientists Erring on the Side of Least Drama
• Satellites Find Over 500 Billion Tons of Land Ice Melting Worldwide Every Year, Headlines Focus on Himalayas
• Monckton Myth #16: Bizarro World Sea Level
• Christy Crock #4: Do the Observations Match the Models?
• Patrick Michaels' 1992 Claims Versus the 2012 Reality

Images

• High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)

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