New Scientist, Issue 2715 [04 July 2009] contains a substantial article on sea level rise which sets out the latest findings on rates of sea level rise and puts these into the context of past changes in sea level. It seems that a rise of 80cm by 2100 is a pretty standard projection, a rise of ~2m by 2100 is within the realms of possibility and even bigger rises cannot be discounted. An important point to bear in mind is that when projections are given for 2100 it is important not to forget that this isn’t the end of the story and that sea levels will continue to rise after this point and also that although much greater changes have occurred earlier in the Earth’s history we need to remember that humans weren’t around then…
Tim O'Hare 