New insights into the contribution of land ice to sea level rise

A new study led by scientists from the University of Bristol has provided an up-to-date insight into the impact of melting land ice on sea levels. The new estimate shows there has been a six-fold increase in annual land ice contribution to global sea level rise from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. Land ice describes permanent ice on the surface of the Earth, which comprises the two ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland as well as numerous smaller glaciers and ice caps. Over the course of the 20th century, melting glaciers and ice caps dominated the overall contribution of land ice to global sea level rise. This has changed over the last few decades due to the accelerating contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Ice sheets are the largest potential source of future sea level rise and represent the largest uncertainty in projections of future sea level. This new study, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters , suggests that for the most recent five-year period (2012-2016), land ice contributed around 1.85 mm per year to global sea level rise.