Global Outlook for Ice & Snow

Figure 6C.1: Billions of dollars of coastal infrastructure has been built immediately adjacent to the coast, as shown here in Gold Coast, Australia. Photo: Bruce Miller

Figure 6C.2: Low-lying coral atolls are particularly vulner- able to sea-level rise. Photo: John Hay

contributes to coastal erosion and inundation of low-lying coastal regions – particularly during extreme sea-level events – and saltwater intrusion into aquifers, deltas and estuaries. These changes have impacts on coastal ecosystems, water resources, and human settlements and activities. Regions at most risk include heavily populated deltaic regions, small is- lands, especially atolls (islands formed of coral, Figure 6C.2), and sandy coasts backed by major coastal developments.

Sea-level rise is a central element in detecting, under- standing, attributing and correctly projecting climate change. During the 20th century, the oceans have stored well over 80 per cent of the heat that has warmed the earth. The associated thermal expansion of the oceans, together with changes in glaciers and ice caps, will likely dominate 21st century sea-level rise. However, on longer time scales, the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica

CHAPTER 6C

CHAPTER 6C

ICE AND SEA-LEVEL CHANGE

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