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Global Effects of Rising Sea Levels - Coggle Diagram
Global Effects of Rising Sea Levels
Contribution to Global Warming: Permafrost
Permanently frozen soil (permafrost) is begging to melt creating sinkholes and shifting the foundation of buildings and other structures. In the Arctic, there exists sub-sea permafrost at the bottom of the ocean warm temperatures mean this sea ice will melt and this will become easier for ships to reach the Arctic.
Scientists may be able to reach deeper layers of sediment drift on the ocean floor with proxy measures. This could help us discover more about fossils from the past
Longterm Cycles in Climate
Milankovitch Cycles
The Milankovitch Cycle comes from astronomer and engineer Milankovitch, who studied the long-term effects of climate change. He developed a theory that one of the causes of these changes is due to Earth's orbit around the sun, specifically its position. His three theories were on different ways of the Earth’s orbits. The variations he studied were called eccentricity, obliquity, and precession. The Earth’s tilt towards the sun he proposed, was responsible for triggering the end of the glaciation period (or the Ice Age) which would cause sea levels to rise.
These orbits reinforce that there are just periods of warming and cooling. They are a less severe version of the Earth’s natural climate change. So, therefore, the sea level is always rising and freezing again.
When there is additional climate change as a result of man-made CO2 emissions, the rise in sea level becomes very significant. It melts at a rate that is higher than proposed orbits that cause warming naturally.
Coastal Communities are Effected
The impact of rising sea levels poses a threat to coastal communities. They specifically affect those homes and people who live on the coastline and cause them to be displaced. Additionally, rising sea levels cause beaches to erode, flooding marshes and their ecosystems and the loss of wetlands.
Climate-related weather effects, also begin to occur such as El Nino. El Nino is an event on the Pacific Ocean where air currents specifically impact temperature and weather patterns around costal communities. These are already costal communities being displaced by rising sea levels.
"El Nino is a climate pattern that features warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropics of that ocean basin. (That excess heat can bleed into the atmosphere and cause changes to typical circulation patterns.)"
Water expands when it is warm. When it warms, frozen areas melt and that means higher sea levels in oceans. This is part of what is causing the global-warming and continues the long-term rise in the oceans. Oceans also absorb much of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
A change in circulation patterns is leading to melting land-bound glaciers. These are also contributing to overall sea level rise.
Proxy Records Potentially Lose and Uncover New Information
Ice core information melts away as temperatures rise and sea levels go up. This can also make it so that scientist more easily access new information because of permafrost melting, they must dig deeper for proxy information.
Ice core data and rising sea levels:
Ice cores and climate change
Ice cores can tell scientists about temperature, precipitation, atmospheric composition, volcanic activity, and even wind patterns.
Ice Cores are taken from giant ice sheets that are also considered glaciers. As temperatures rise, glaciers melt faster than they accumulate new snow. As these ice sheets and glaciers melt, the water eventually runs into the ocean, causing sea level to rise.
Can observe more of the Greenhouse Effect and climate change.
Ocean Layers are Disrupted
The currents that flow through the ocean move by a process called thermohaline circulation. This moves currents that contian nutrient-rich water around the world.
Thermohaline circulation plays a vital role in providing heat to the polar areas of the world. In regards to sea levels, it also influences the amount of sea ice formation near the poles, which in turn affects other aspects of the climate system like ocean currents.
As sea levels have continued to rise, there has also been a warming of the ocean. If during thermohaline circulation, cold water is not lifted to the surface, called an upwelling, the nutrients in the water will not be distributed. These nutrients that are spread are also what start the food chains in ocean ecosystems.
Severe rising sea levels from climate change will slow phytoplankton from forming. In addition, rising sea levels increase the depth of the ocean layers, which affects how far the marine life has to reach their food, which then affects the entire food chain.
According to National Geographic, the "top ocean layer is about 100 meters (330 feet) deep". This means that when enough sunlight reaches that depth, the organisms that rely on the suns energy, such as phytoplankton, can carry out photosynthesis. Phytoplankton is a food to marine and ocean life, and makes up the first part of the food chain.
