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One of the predictions related to global warming that seems to surprise people is that most of the predicted sea level rise is attributed to the thermal expansi
by snowwrestler 3y ago
One of the predictions related to global warming that seems to surprise people is that most of the predicted sea level rise is attributed to the thermal expansion of warmer sea water.
So when we think about major changes in how the ocean absorbs and distributes heat, we’re also thinking about how sea level will change in certain areas vs others. If the ocean starts storing a lot more heat around Cuba than Great Britain, Cuba will experience more sea level rise than Great Britain does.
- philipkglass 3y agoI don't think that is true. The oceans around Cuba and Great Britain are not separate bodies of water. Volumetric expansion from heating gets flattened out across all connected bodies of water by gravity. You could see differences of geography in how much different lakes expand, though.
- Mordisquitos 3y agoI don't know. Consider that a given mass of water would undergo the same gravitational force regardless of whether it is colder/denser/smaller/lower or whether it is hotter/less-dense/larger/higher. Also, as an analogy, consider how much the tidal range [0] varies between areas of the ocean which are absolutely connected as a single body of water. Note particularly the contrast between tides in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at large on each side of the Iberian Peninsula, even though they are totally connected through the Straight of Gibraltar. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_range https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_range
- snowwrestler 3y agoThis isn’t hypothetical, water temperature is already known to be one factor in deviations of regional sea level from global sea level. If the conditions that create the heat differential are persistent, the height difference will persist as well.