The global sea level rose faster than expected in 2024, mainly due to the expansion of ocean water as it is heated, a phenomenon called Thermal expansion.
According to an analysis led by NASA, last year’s increase rate was 0.59 centimeters per yearcompared to the planned rate of 0.43 centimeters per year, reports EP.
“The increase we observed in 2024 was greater than expected,” said Josh Willis, a researcher at sea level in the NASA jet propulsion laboratory in South California. “Every year is a bit different, but what is clear is that the ocean continues to rise, and the increase rate is increasingly fast.”
In recent years, approximately two thirds of the increase in sea level were due to the incorporation of land water into the ocean by melting the ice layers and glaciers. Approximately one third came from the thermal expansion of seawater. However, in 2024, These contributions were investedand two thirds of the increase in sea level came from thermal expansion.
“With 2024 as the warmest registered year, the oceans of the expanding earth follow their example, reaching their highest levels in three decades,” said Nadya Vinladova Shiffer, head of physical oceanography programs and the Integrated Observatory of the Earth’s System at NASA headquarters in Washington.
Increase rate
Since the satellite registration of the ocean height began in 1993, the annual sea level increase rate has more than duplicate. In total, the global sea level has risen 10 centimeters since 1993.
This long-term record is possible thanks to an uninterrupted series of ocean observation satellites, which began with Topex/Poseidon in 1992. The current oceanic observation satellite of that series, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, was launched in 2020 and is part of a pair of identical spacecraft that will transport this set of sea level data until its quarter. Its twin, the next Sentinel-6b satellite, will continue to measure the height of the sea surface with a precision of a few centimeters in approximately 90% of the oceans of the world.
The heat is filtered to the ocean in several ways, which causes the thermal expansion of the water. Normally, seawater It is organized in layers determined by its temperature and density. The warmer water floats on them and is lighter than the coldest water, which is denser. In most places, the heat of the surface moves very slowly through these layers towards the depths of the ocean.
However, oceanic areas with a lot of wind can shake layers enough to cause a vertical mixture. Very strong currents, such as those of the Antarctic Ocean, can incline the ocean layers, which facilitates that surface waters slide towards the depths.
The massive water movement during the child -In which a large mass of warm water, normally located in the Western Pacific Ocean, moves to the central and eastern Pacific- can also cause a vertical heat movement inside the ocean.
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