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Press Release 09-019
Could Sea Level Rise to the Steps of the U.S. Capitol?

Global warming raises the specter of melting glaciers and ice sheets at both ends of the globe. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, roughly the size of Texas, extends over both land and water west of Antarctica's Transantarctic mountains. Even partial melting of this vast ice sheet would cause a significant rise in sea level.

But that sea level rise would not happen uniformly around the globe, according to an article in Science magazine. The authors show that when physical and gravitational factors are applied to projections of sea level rise, the impact on coastal areas is dramatically worse in some parts of the world than predicted so far.

Even partial melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would have serious consequences, unevenly felt around the world

Oregon State University glacial geologist Peter U. Clark, along with University of Toronto professor of geophysics Jerry X. Mitrovica and graduate student Natalya Gomez, discusses the variation in sea-level rise around the world that would result from melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Credit: University of Toronto, Oregon State University, and National Science Foundation