Sea-level change refers to temporal variations in the height of the global or regional ocean surface relative to a reference datum, driven by combined effects of eustatic, isostatic, and steric processes. Eustatic change primarily arises from alterations in ocean mass, notably through glacial–interglacial ice-sheet dynamics and contemporary land ice melt. Isostatic and tectonic processes modify the vertical position of the solid Earth, producing relative sea-level change at specific locations. Steric contributions reflect temperature- and salinity-driven density changes that alter ocean volume. Quantifying sea-level change integrates tide-gauge records, satellite altimetry, gravimetry, and glacial isostatic adjustment models for reconstructing past variability and constraining projections.
A new ice sheet model developed by glaciologists at the University of California, Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory projects that the melting of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica will contribute up to 30 millimeters ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 13, 2026
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Just two weeks after it was launched, the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite returned its first images and measurements from two of its key instruments—a major milestone that confirms the satellite is working well and on track ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 8, 2026
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In the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, afternoon thunderstorms roll through almost every day. Daytime heat causes towering, fluffy cumulonimbus clouds to form and swell before unleashing torrential rain on cities such as ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 6, 2026
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Cutting greenhouse gas emissions now may limit how much ice Antarctica loses this century and reduce the sea-level rise facing coastal communities, according to findings from a new study.
Earth Sciences
Oct 3, 2026
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Earth's poles do not always stay in the same place. For example, a region once near the North Pole can end up near the equator, and an area near the equator can shift up toward the pole. This is known as true polar wander ...
Many cities around the world are sinking because too much water is extracted from the groundwater reservoirs beneath them. This sinking makes these coastal cities more exposed to rising seas as the climate warms. But as our ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 30, 2026
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Over a century ago, Australian geologist Sir Douglas Mawson led a sledding expedition over hundreds of kilometers of ice into a remote part of East Antarctica. The party turned back after the tragic death of a party member. ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 30, 2026
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About 12.5 trillion tons (11.3 trillion metric tons) of ice from glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica have melted since 1979, which is enough frozen water to stack ice 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep across the continental United ...
Environment
Sep 20, 2026
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1387
The longest satellite record ever assembled shows that Greenland and Antarctica have lost 11.3 trillion metric tons of ice since the 1970s, raising global sea level by more than 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)—and that most of ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 16, 2026
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While people across the globe are experiencing various impacts of climate change, governments and communicators often use top-to-bottom, uniform communication strategies to inform people about climate change.
Environment
Sep 15, 2026
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