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The reduction of greenhouse gases will lead to the fact that the global temperature and sea level will stop growing. 't it?
Not quite so. The modelling performed by the staff of the National center for atmospheric research (USA), showed that, although the emission reductions can stabilize global temperatures and sea levels will continue to rise for centuries.
The sea level rises with increasing temperature - with this clear. But how is this possible if the planet's surface ceases to be heated? Of several factors.
According to researchers, the largest contribution of thermal expansion of sea water. Warm water on the surface slowly sink, mixing cooler, resulting heats up quite a large amount of water. After that, it takes some time to oceans came in full equilibrium with atmospheric conditions.
Scientists have considered several scenarios - from complete inactivity of people (in this case by the end of the century will warm degrees five) to pump out carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (which will stop global warming already when our great-grandchildren). The average forecast suggests that warming is stabilized by 2200 year, reaching three degrees above pre-industrial levels.
According to the modeling results, even in the best case, the sea level is going to grow for three hundred years.
Melting glaciers will also contribute to sea level rise, but its magnitude more difficult to predict. In particular, we do not know the physics responsible for the stability of ice sheets, although a number of empirical models created. The researchers took advantage of one of them is described by the intergovernmental panel on climate change fourth assessment report.
Accounting glacial contribution is almost twice raised the sea level in all scenarios. However, the high degree of uncertainty does not allow to operate exact figures. It is possible to speak only about the fact that the thermal expansion of water alone gives an underestimation of rising sea levels.
Very rough here are the results. If we will not reduce carbon dioxide emissions, by the year 2300, the sea level could rise by almost two and a half meters at least, and more than ten metres in the worst case.
If we by 2070 invest heavily in renewable energy, peace atom and the capture and storage of carbon, the sea level will rise not more than a meter in the best case, and three at worst.
The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Prepared according to Ars Technica.