How has global warming affected the oceans?
Many find it hard to believe that in their lifetime the level of the ocean has risen significantly. (See graph Sea Level Rise over the Last Century.) After all, the beach seems to look pretty much like it did last year; even so oceanographers have data that show it really has risen over 10 centimeters (about 4-5 inches) in the last one hundred years. If the attached graph was extended an additional 100 hundred years, presuming the increase to be the same as the last century, the data would show at least another 10 centimeters totaling about one half foot. This doesn’t seem like much, although it would adversely affect many coastal areas around the world. However, an addition complication is occurring: the ice at the poles is melting faster than new ice is forming. In a paper by the U.S. Center for Atmospheric Research it was shown that ice is declining on average 7.8 percent per decade, much faster than the 2.5 percent that was predicted. This phenomenon is heavily affecting pole clima
