NSF: Could Sea Level Rise to the Steps of the U.S. Capitol?

Press Release 09-019

Could Sea Level Rise to the Steps of the U.S. Capitol?

Even partial melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would have serious consequences, unevenly felt around the world

The continent of Antarctica appears as a bright white mass in a composite satellite image. Credit and Larger Version

February 5, 2009

View a video interview with University of Toronto professor of geophysics Jerry X. Mitrovica and graduate student Natalya Gomez; and Oregon State University glacial geologist Peter U. Clark.

Global warming raises the specter of melting glaciers and ice sheets at both ends of the globe. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, roughly the size of Texas, extends over both land and water west of Antarctica's Transantarctic mountains. Even partial melting of this vast ice sheet would cause a significant rise in sea level.

But that sea level rise would not happen uniformly around the globe, according to an article in the academic journal Science. The authors show that when physical and gravitational factors are applied to projections of sea level rise, the impact on coastal areas is dramatically worse in some parts of the world than predicted so far.

Principal Investigators
Peter U. Clark, Oregon State University 541-737-1247 clarkp@onid.orst.edu
Jerry X. Mitrovica, University of Toronto 416 978-4946 jxm@physics.utoronto.ca

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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