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Glaciers dominate eustatic sea-level rise in the 21st century

January 1, 2007

Ice loss to the sea currently accounts for virtually all of the sea-level rise that is not attributable to ocean warming, and about 60% of the ice loss is from glaciers and ice caps rather than from the two ice sheets. The contribution of these smaller glaciers has accelerated over the past decade, in part due to marked thinning and retreat of marine-terminating glaciers associated with a dynamic instability that is generally not considered in mass-balance and climate modeling. This acceleration of glacier melt may cause 0.1 to 0.25 meter of additional sea-level rise by 2100.

Publication Year 2007
Title Glaciers dominate eustatic sea-level rise in the 21st century
DOI 10.1126/science.1143906
Authors Mark Frederick Meier, M.B. Dyurgerov, Ursula K. Rick, William Tad Pfeffer, Suzanne P. Anderson, Andrey F. Glazovsky
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Science
Index ID 70174306
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Alaska Science Center