New Website Provides Sea Level Data

Global sea levels are rising due to climate change. The height of the ocean also depends on other factors like vertical land motion and changes in ocean currents. Additionally, earth’s gravity causes impacts from the melting of ice sheets and glaciers that move water away from the glaciers and toward the tropics. Tides, storms and other natural changes can alter the local sea level temporarily.
Global sea levels are rising due to climate change. The height of the ocean also depends on other factors like vertical land motion and changes in ocean currents. Additionally, earth’s gravity causes impacts from the melting of ice sheets and glaciers that move water away from the glaciers and toward the tropics. Tides, storms and other natural changes can alter the local sea level temporarily.
Global sea levels are rising due to climate change. The height of the ocean also depends on other factors like vertical land motion and changes in ocean currents. Additionally, earth’s gravity causes impacts from the melting of ice sheets and glaciers that move water away from the glaciers and toward the tropics. Tides, storms and other natural changes can alter the local sea level temporarily.

The U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and the U.S. Global Change Research Program have launched the U.S. Sea Level Change website.

The new platform represents the first government-based resource for coastal residents and decision-makers on sea-level rise projections. The site provides research on sea-level change with educational content on how and why ocean levels are rising its impacts and actions that can be taken.

“This resource puts the latest federal science on sea-level rise at people’s fingertips and helps identify, understand and address risks,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., deputy director for climate and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a statement. “This effort highlights how federal agencies are working together to deliver accessible and usable science as we confront the climate crisis.”

It’s estimated that the nation will see about a foot of additional sea level rise on average by 2050, with potential increases in flooding.

Data on past, present and future sea level change can be viewed on the new site in the National Sea Level Explorer tab.

“By boosting access to sea-level rise data, the Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change is helping local communities across the nation access essential information that strengthens our resilience to the changing climate,” said administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “NOAA is proud to be a partner in delivering this valuable whole-of-government approach to a website that bridges between scientific data and real-time decision making.”

The new task force has representation from the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NOAA, the United States Agency for International Development, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“NASA is deeply committed to providing real-world information to the people who need it most,” said Dr. Karen St. Germain, Ph.D., director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “Through this multi-agency collaborative effort, we are providing the most accurate data and model projections available to ensure that communities around the nation have information at their fingertips to plan for future sea-level rise to create a more resilient and prepared infrastructure.”