The Effects of Sea Level RiseIntroduction:Over the past few decades, climate change has evolved from a polarizing discussion to what will likely be the largest collaborative research project of our generation. While many aspects of climate change are still misunderstood, there is little debate that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at an alarming rate. This increase is considered the main cause of the increase in global temperature, which has set in motion a chain reaction of climate events. Atmospheric carbon affects Earth's temperature because it is a greenhouse gas. When visible light from the sun warms the Earth's surface, some of the energy is transmitted back to the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation that would otherwise pass through the atmosphere and return to space, trapping excess heat. Unfortunately, rising global temperatures caused by atmospheric carbon are predicted to have a domino effect, affecting other systems and cycles that will further warm the planet. The ocean ice cycle in the Arctic and Antarctic is an example of this impact. Ice reflects more solar radiation than open ocean, but ice cover is decreasing due to global warming. As the amount of ocean ice decreases, the amount of absorbed radiation increases, warming the ocean and creating a positive feedback loop. The scientific community is just beginning to understand the many ways, like this one, that climate change will manifest itself. With strong demand for further research, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment… halfway through… even if the climate stabilizes. Together, the current ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland contain enough water to raise sea levels by almost 70 meters if they were to melt. Models predict that local annual average warming above 3°C, sustained for millennia, would lead to virtually complete melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a consequent rise in sea levels of about 7 metres. For Greenland warming of 5.5°C, in line with medium-term stabilization scenarios, the Greenland ice sheet is likely to contribute approximately 3 million years in 1,000 years. For a warming of 8°C, the contribution is about 6 meters, the ice sheet is largely eliminated. For smaller warmings, the decay of the ice sheet would be substantially slower. Current ice dynamics models state that ice sheets would raise sea levels by 3 mm per year over the next thousand years5. These estimates are shown in the following figure.