Watching our climate 100 miles from shore

A NASA plane drops temperature and salinity sensors in Baffin Bay--and finds signs of a melting Greenland. Full story ›

slide 2 - NASA's Sea Level Change Team is holding its yearly meeting in Norfolk, Va., a coastal city already experiencing the effects of sea level rise.

On Virginia coast, NASA scientists chart a course for sea level research

NASA's Sea Level Change Team held its yearly meeting in Norfolk, Va., a coastal city already experiencing the effects of sea level rise. Full story ›

slide 3 - NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is preparing for sea level rise, part of an agency wide initiative.

Houston, we have a problem. Or do we?

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is preparing for sea level rise, part of an agency wide initiative. Full story ›

slide 4 - Sinking cities can be a more immediate problem than rising seas, but get far less attention.

Big coastal cities sink faster than seas rise

Sinking cities can be a more immediate problem than rising seas, but get far less attention. Full story ›

slide 5 - Seesawing sea levels in the Pacific correlate with the rate of global surface warming, new research reveals.

Pacific sea level predicts global temperature change

Seesawing sea levels in the Pacific correlate with the rate of global surface warming, new research reveals. Full story ›

Global Mean Sea Level

3.4

± 0.4
mm/yr
Ocean Mass

1.8

± 0.4
mm/yr
Steric Height

0.8

± 0.2
mm/yr
Greenland Ice Mass Change

281

± 24
Gt/yr
Antarctica Ice Mass Change

118

± 44
Gt/yr

Understanding Sea Level

NASA keeps track of sea level change and its causes from space. Find out more about how NASA satellite observations help our understanding of this complex topic.

Causes

Observations

Projections

Adaptation

Learn more about why sea level is rising, the different causes, current and past rates.

Learn more about Causes

Understanding Sea Level

NASA keeps track of sea level change and its causes from space. Find out more about how NASA satellite observations help our understanding of this complex topic.

Causes

Learn more about why sea level is rising, the different causes, current and past rates.

Learn more about Causes ›

Observations

Learn more about how sea level is measured, the different types of observations, measurement techniques, and how data can be merged to form a long-term climate record.

Learn more about Observations ›

Projections

Learn more about how models forecast the future of sea level, and how different components contributing to sea level change are predicted to evolve over time.

Learn more about Projections ›