Exact date of when sea levels around world began to rise beyond normal revealed

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Sea levels started to rise around the world during the first industrial revolution in 1863, scientists have revealed.

While many studies have looked at how quickly sea levels have risen over the past century, few have examined when it all started.

Sea levels are often used to measure and predict climate change as they are directly impacted by temperature changes.

Now scientists have managed to narrow it down to the nearest year and pin-point the start of modern climate change.

It comes just days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a new report detailing the rapid acceleration of sea level rise in the United States.

Lead author Dr. Jennifer Walker at Rutgers University - New Brunswick said: "We can be virtually certain the global rate of sea-level rise from 1940 to 2000 was faster than all previous 60-year intervals over the last 2,000 years.

"Having a thorough understanding of site-specific sea-level changes over long timescales is imperative for regional and local planning and response to future sea level rise.”

A global database of sea-level records spanning the last 2,000 years was analyzed by the researchers using a statistical model.

Generally speaking, they found sea levels began rising in the year 1863, around the same time as the Industrial Revolution was intensifying.

The rise started in the mid-Atlantic region during the 19th century before moving to Canada and Europe 100-years later.

Their findings could help regional planners prepare for future sea-level rises which are already threatening many of the word's coastal regions.

Their model could also be applied to specific locations to better understand the processes which are driving sea level changes at a regional level.

Dr. Walker said: "The fact that modern rates emerge at all of our study sites by the mid-20th century demonstrates the significant influence global sea-level rise has had on our planet in the last century.

"Further analysis of the spatial variability in the time of emergence at different locations will continue to improve society’s understanding of how regional and local processes impact rates of sea-level rise."

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.