have the largest potential to contribute to significant isphere latitudes
3,4
. Palaeo data from corals indicate that
changes in sea level. sea level was 4 to 6 m (or more) above present day sea levels
during the last interglacial period, about 125 000 years ago
5
.
Climate and ice-sheet model simulations
6
indicate that
Past sea-level change Greenland was about 3° C warmer than today and that the
Northern Hemisphere ice sheets contributed 2.2 to 3.4 m
Ice-age cycles and sea level to the higher sea level, with the majority of the rise com-
ing from the partial melting of the Greenland ice sheet.
Sea level varied over 100 m during glacial–interglacial cy-
cles as the major ice sheets waxed and waned as a result of During the last ice age, sea level fell to more than 120 m
changes in summer solar radiation in high northern hem- below present day sea level as water was stored in the
Global mean
Sea Level (cm)
+20
+10
0
Tide gauge observations
(with 66 and 95% confidence limits)
Satellite altimeter
observations
-10
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Figure 6C.3: Global averaged sea levels from 1870 to 2006 as inferred from tide-gauge data (white line, with 66% and 95% confi-
dence limits given in dark and light shading) and satellite altimeter data (red line).
Source: Updated from Church and White 2006
13
156 GLOBAL OUTLOOK FOR ICE AND SNOW