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​​The Science Behind Sea Level Rise: How Past Emissions Will Shape Our Future

Union of Concerned Scientists

Sea levels are rising, and science shows they will continue to rise for generations due to heat-trapping emissions that have already been released. Understanding sea level rise as a long-term, multi-generational problem is essential to comprehending the scale of climate change and the need for bold action now.

Sea Level 306
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How Major Carbon Producers Drive Sea Level Rise and Climate Injustice

Union of Concerned Scientists

In a new study released today, UCS attributes substantial temperature and sea level rise to emissions traced to the largest fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. m (10-21 inches) of sea level rise by the year 2300. And critically, we demonstrate how these emissions will cause harm for centuries to come.

Sea Level 246
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Why Climate Scientists Are Sounding the Alarm on the Ocean Circulation System AMOC

Union of Concerned Scientists

Last month, 44 climate scientists from 15 countries wrote an open letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers highlighting the risk of a potential collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a critical ocean current system in the Atlantic Ocean. But what exactly would cause the AMOC to collapse? What is the AMOC?

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Sea Level Rise is Already Threatening Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

In an era when massive heat domes blanket large swaths of continents for days, wildfires burn through areas the size of small countries, and hurricanes regularly push the limits of what we once thought possible, sea level rise can seem like extreme weather’s low-key cousin. Since 1993, sea level has risen by an average rate of 3.1

Sea Level 342
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How Do ‘Future Climate Scenarios’ Shape Climate Science and Inform Policy? 

Union of Concerned Scientists

If you live in a coastal zone and have looked at maps of future sea level rise or have read about how climate change could be slowed with policy changes to reduce emissions, youve likely seen these scenarios in action. Four RCP scenarios describe different levels of radiative forcing in the atmosphere by 2100.

Radiation 246
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Arctic Report Card 2024: How Did the Region Fare? Ask the Caribou

Union of Concerned Scientists

For the first time, the Arctic Report Card assessed that the Arctic is faltering as a reliable area for storing carbon away from the atmosphere ( Natalie et al., It was its first failing grade after thousands of years holding onto more carbon than released to the atmosphere. in Arc2024 ). Methane releases were sustained as well.

2024 263
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Why is future sea level rise still so uncertain?

Real Climate

Three new papers in the last couple of weeks have each made separate claims about whether sea level rise from the loss of ice in West Antarctica is more or less than you might have thought last month and with more or less certainty.

Sea Level 255