Thermal expansion! https://www.livescience.com/8621-warming-deep-southern-ocean-linked-sea-level-rise.htmlI wonder what contributes to the other 1.8mm.
Sea level has been rising at around one-eighth of an inch (3 millimeters) per year on average since 1993, with about half of that caused by the ocean expanding as it's heated, and the other half due to additional water added to the ocean, mostly from melting continental ice.
Thanks! Jesus Mary. Thanks to the high specific heat of water. The thermal expansion coefficient of water increases with temperature, so the warmer the water, the more it expands. Luckily, 90% of the ocean is below the thermocline, which is 0-3 degrees Celsius, where the slope is least. Still, it looks like the sea level rise due to warming will only increase with time. We are currently adding 1cm every 3 years. I'm willing to bet that we can get that up to 1cm per year by 2030.This amount of energy would be the equivalent of giving every person on Earth five 1,400-Watt hair dryers, and running them constantly during the 20-year study period, said study team member and oceanographer Gregory Johnson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
