Sea-level rise is much larger than previously thought, says study

A new scientific study raises alarming concerns as it reveals that sea-levels are escalating nearly three times as rapidly as they were throughout most of the 20th century.

"The acceleration in global mean sea-level rise is much larger than previously thought", said Sönke Dangendorf who led the study who led the study along with scientists at institutions in Spain, France, Norway and the Netherlands.

The study published in scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) isn't the first to highlight the speeding rate of sea-level rise. But its findings suggest a significantly faster rate of increase as compared to past research.

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According to Dangendorf, one of the reasons for the recent acceleration is the melting of ice sheets over recent decades. Trapped greenhouse gases cause increase in temperatures that warms up the seawater resulting in its expansion, and ice melts into the sea, resulting in a rise in the water level.

The study exhibits the effects of Greenland and Antarctica's ice sheets melting rapidly over the last 20 or 30 years has been greater than expected, indicating a larger future sea-level rise than previously predicted.

This research underlines sea-level rise as a serious threat which has been underestimated earlier.