INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY LAW CHART 4: EVOLUTION OF SEA LEVEL SINCE 1993 UNTIL TODAY – SOURCE AGENCE NASA The increase in temperatures leads on the one hand to a phenomenon of extreme precipitation which itself generates another phenomenon of flooding. Both lead to sea level rise. But the melting of glaciers plays a very important role in the rapid rise in sea level. Between 2000 and 2015 the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets lost nearly 100 to 200 gigatonnes of ice per year per ice sheet. For global sea level to rise by a single millimeter, 360 gigatonnes of ice must melt(Scambos, 2011)33. During the Pliocene era, around 3 million years ago, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere were similar to those of today. Average temperatures were 2-3 degrees warmer than felt today(Meyer, 2019)34. Added to this is that the sea level, at the time in question, would have risen up to 25 meters above its current level. But these studies showed that the melting of Greenland would have contributed only 5 meters of sea level rise while the remaining 20 meters came from the melting of Antarctica. Another element is thus added to the melting of the Greenland ice cap and which would lead to a rapid rise in sea level. Led by Australian researchers, published paper shows sea levels could rise 25 meters by 33 Scambos, T. ”Earth's ice: Sea level, climate, and our future commitment.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, [online] volume 1, pages 28–40. Available at <doi:10.1177/0096340210392965> (accessed 2019-11-28) 34Meyer, Nathalie “The melting ice in Antarctica could raise sea levels by 20 meters” [online] 2019, available at https://www.futurasciences.com/planete/actualites/climatologie-fonte-glaces -antarctica-could-raise-sealevel-20-meters-47978/ (consulted on 28.11.2019)
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