Climate Change:
Sea Level Rise
Climate Change
 Weather vs. Climate
 Weather: day to day changes in temperature,
rainfall, cloudiness, moisture
 Climate: long term changes in weather patterns on
our planet
 Effects of climate change:
 Sea level rise (today’s activity)
 Warmer sea surface temperatures
 Drought (water shortage), flooding
Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System
Divers work on sensors at the Kilo Nalu
Reef Observatory which monitor water
quality and temperature
HIOOS
Wave
buoys
Coastal
monitor wave
Wave
height,Buoy
direction,
and period around
Measurements
the
Pacific Ocean
CO2 Buoy – South Shore Oahu
Temperature
Carbon Dioxide
Salinity
Oxygen
Chlorophyll
Turbidity
Photo courtesy of R. David Beales, UH Creative Services
HIOOS
Coastal Wave
Buoy
Measurements
Sea Level Stations
Tide gauge stations all over the world
continuously monitor water level
CO2 and Climate Change
 Greenhouse effect – makes
life on Earth possible
 CO2 comes from natural and
man made sources:
 Natural: animal respiration,
volcanoes
 Man made: burning fossil fuels
(cars, planes, electricity),
deforestation (cutting/burning
trees)
 Too much CO2 causes too
much warming
What affects sea level on
short time scales?
• Tides
• Weather
• storms, hurricanes,
waves
• El Nino
• can lower or raise sea
level depending on
location
What causes global sea level
rise?
Climate Change
Increasing temperatures cause melting ice in
alpine glaciers, Greenland, and Antarctica
Warming causes thermal expansion of ocean
water – like air and other fluids, water expands
as the temperature increases
Types of ice
 Land-based ice (freshwater)
 Glaciers, icebergs
 Ice sheets (Antarctica and
Greenland)
 Alpine (mountain) ice
 Sea ice (seawater)
 Forms in the sea as water
freezes
 Floating in water
Glacier
Alpine Ice
Sea Ice
Photo credit: NSIDC
What are the effects of sea
level rise?
Coastal flooding
Contaminating drinking
water with seawater
Increases impact of
storms
Increases risk of coastal
erosion
Future Sea Level Rise
 Prediction: Sea
level will rise 1 m
(3.3 ft) in the next
100 years
 Many areas in
Hawaii are close to
sea level
 Data from UH
Coastal Geology
Group