Sea Level Rise Won't Be a "Hollywood Cataclysm" for National
Geographic News |September 4, 2008| Sea levels will rise a bit
higher—but not catastrophically high—in the coming century,
according to a new study. The oceans will likely rise between
2.5 and 6.5 feet (0.8 and 2 meters) by 2100, researchers say.
This is not as high as the predictions from some scientists, who
have warned that sea levels may rise as much as 16 feet (5
meters) by 2100. Just because the amount of sea-level rise
predicted in the new study is "not a Hollywood cataclysm, it
doesn't mean it's not important," said study leader Tad Pfeffer
of the University of Colorado in Boulder.>> "A Real Outlier" As
greenhouse gases heat up the planet, the polar regions and high
elevations are warming the fastest. (Learn how the greenhouse
effect works.) That has caused glaciers, ice caps, and the vast
ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica to melt and break apart.
(See photos of Greenland's ice sheets crumbling.) In the new
study, Pfeffer and colleagues