Weather & Calamities
Intermediate

Sea-Level Rise (Thermal Expansion)

Rise in sea level as ocean water warms and expands.

Formula

Δh=hβΔT\Delta h = h\,\beta\,\Delta T

Variables

ΔhRise in sea level
hDepth of the ocean layer
βThermal expansion coefficient
ΔTTemperature change

Example

Warming water expands, raising seas even before any ice melts

Did You Know?

Thermal expansion causes roughly a third to a half of observed sea-level rise.

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