Explain how an increase in greenhouse gasses lead to rising sea levels.

Sea Level Rise Assignment

Objective: Identify the causes and
consequences of sea level rise. Explore sea level rise data and evaluate future
sea levels.
Grading: See Rubric on BB.
Directions: Answer the
following questions and upload your assignment to BB by the due date.
Part 1:
Reading: Read
the following articles.
·
“Is sea level rising?” NOAA http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html
·
“Sea Level Rise” National Geographic http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/
Questions:
then answer the following questions based on the readings above. Make sure to
use full sentences and your own words.
1.
What are the two major causes of sea level rise?
2.
Explain
how an increase in greenhouse gasses lead to rising sea levels.
3.
How much have sea levels risen over the past 20
years? The past century?
4.
How does the rate of sea level rise since 1992,
compare to the rate of sea level rise over the last 2000 years?
5.
About what percentage of the population of the
United States lives near the coast? Why is this concerning?
6.
What are some of the consequences of higher sea
levels?
7.
Why might sea level rise at specific locations
be more or less than the global average?
Part 2:
Data: Go
to the following data set and explore it. Make sure to look at the key which
indicates what the colored arrows on the map represent.
·
NOAA Tides and Currents “Sea Level Trends” https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/
o
This data set shows sea level data using tide
gauges, which are used to measure sea level change at a specific location.
These measurements are then averaged to determine a global average rate of sea
level change.
Questions:
answer the following questions based on the data set above. You do not need to
use full sentences.
8.
Focusing on the United States.
a.
Is sea level rising at the same rate at
all the stations?
b.
Which state in the continental US has particularly high rates of sea level rise?

i.
Zoom in on this state and click on one of the gauges showing a particularly high rate of
rise.
1.
Name of the gauge you chose:
2.
What is the rate of change in mm/year for this
gauge?
3.
How many feet is this equivalent to over 100
years?
c.
Name one state in the US is sea level actually
falling?
9.
Zoom in on Baltimore, MD and click on the tide
gauge there.
a.
What is the rate of sea level rise in mm/year in
Baltimore, MD?
b.
How many feet is this equivalent to over 100
years?
10.
Zoom out to look at the whole map.
a.
Are the tide gauges evenly distributed across
the globe.
b.
Why might this be a problem?

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