Map of the Week – Global mean sea level regional trend
Have you seen that the seventh edition of the EU Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR) has been released? This flagship report of the EU Copernicus Marine Service, funded by the European Union and coordinated by Mercator Ocean International, provides a comprehensive overview on the state, variability and change of the global ocean for scientists, members of the blue economy, decision makers and the public. The report includes state-of-the-art scientific findings, information on the state of the ocean in Europe and around the world and details on new tools and approaches which can help scientists better monitor, understand, and adapt to the challenges associated with an ocean in constant change. The report provides insight on the Blue Ocean (physical state), the Green Ocean (biological and biogeochemical state), and the White Ocean (polar ice). An interactive summary for policy makers was published on 26 October 2023.
The interactive summary indicates that the sea level trend for the Global Ocean from January 1993 to August 2022 is an increase by 3.3 mm/year. The sea level trend varies by sea basin with, for example, an increase of 2.5 mm/year for the Mediterranean Sea, 1.4 mm/year for the Black Sea and 4.8 mm/year for the Baltic Sea. Sea level is rising as a result of ocean heating (thermal expansion) and land ice-mass loss. Sea level rise can seriously affect human populations in coastal and island regions as well as natural environments such as marine ecosystems.
Did you know that there are several map layers in the European Atlas of the Seas that are based on data from the Copernicus Marine Service? This is the case of the Map of the Week on global mean sea level regional trend. Explore the map to learn more about sea level rise.
The data in this map are provided by the Copernicus Marine Service .