Eastern U.S. and Canada May Experience Higher Sea Level Rise

A new study says that the northeastern United States and maritime Canada are likely to experience a higher rise in sea level than many other regions, with expected increases in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean of at least two to three feet this century. Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., say that the higher sea level rises will be due to the rapid melting of the Greenland ice sheet, currently experiencing melt rate increases of 7 percent a year. The colder waters from the melting ice sheet will alter currents in the Atlantic, directing warmer water onto the coasts of the northeastern U.S. and maritime Canada, the scientists reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Because water expands as it warms, that influx of warmer water is expected to increase sea levels in the region by one to two feet. Those rises would be on top of an expected global sea level rise this century of at least one to two feet, according to a conservative estimate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The melting of parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could add another 1.5 feet to the overall global sea level rise.