In an earlier estimate of the rise in sea level, stated in a previous study published in the March issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, ‘new projections call for an extra 4 to 12 inches (10.2 to 30.5 centimeters) on top of the rise of 8 inches (20.3 centimeters).’ According to this study, ‘if global warming continues, sea levels around New York City would rise by twice as much as in other parts of the United States.
This study and the estimates it contained are now revised.
A more recent study reveals that major cities in the northeastern U.S. and Canada ‘are directly in the path of the greatest rise in sea level if Greenland glaciers continue to melt due to global warming.’ This phenomenon can come as early as 2100.
Scientists now assert that the fresh water produced by the melting ice sheets ‘will disrupt a circulation pattern in the Atlantic Ocean, causing seas to expand.’ The freshwater flow from the Greenland melt will ‘make deep waters warmer and less dense, causing surface waters to expand throughout the North Atlantic.’
The predicted global sea level rise due to global warming is 21 inches (54 centimeters). Greenland can further exacerbate the situation. Greenland’s 3 percent melt rate will result in an extra 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) more than the predicted global sea level rise. 1 percent melt rate would mean an extra 8 inches (20.3 centimeters).
Greenland’s present melt rate is 7 percent.
