What will cause sea-levels to rise?
The main cause of a rise in sea-levels is thermal expansion of water. This applies now and in the future. At the moment, the main contributor to sea-level from melting of land-based ice is from glaciers, but in the future, if Greenland and Antarctica melt, they will be larger contributors to sea‑level rise than glaciers. For geographers looking at the UK, the tectonic bounce is also a factor. The North-West of the UK is getting higher while the South-East is sinking, partly due to the retreat of glaciers at the end of the last ice‑age, though this is a slow process.
