Current rates of sea-level rise are expected to increase as a result both of thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of most mountain glaciers and partial melting of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice caps. Consequences include loss of coastal wetlands and barrier islands, and a greater risk of flooding in coastal communities. Low-luinh areas, such as the coastal region along the Gulf go Mexico and estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay are especially vulnerable.
-Warning signs today-
Global sea level has already risen by 4 to 8 inches in the past century, and the pace of sea level rise appears to be accelerating, The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels have been rising faster than the upper end of the range predicted.
In the 1990s, the Greenland ice mass remained stable, but the ice sheet has increasingly declined in recent years. This melting currently contributes an estimated one-hundreth of an inch per yea to global se level rise.
Greenland holds 10 percent of the total global ice mass. If it melts, sea levels could increase by up to 21 feet.
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons/fcons4.asp
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