Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is at risk from rising sea levels. Credit: Dave/Flickr Creative Commons

A new study says that global sea level rise is accelerating incrementally over time, rather than increasing at a steady rate, as previously thought. The study, published February 12, 2018, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data.

The researchers say that this acceleration – driven mainly by increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica – has the potential to double the total sea level rise projected by 2100, when compared to projections that assume a constant rate of sea level rise.

If the rate of ocean rise continues to change at this pace, the researchers suggest, sea level will rise 26 inches (65 centimeters) by 2100. That’s enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities.

Steve Nerem, the study’s lead author, is a professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, a fellow at Colorado’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), and […]