Even if we are able to stabilize carbon dioxide levels at
current concentrations (387 ppm), we have probably locked in
ultimate sea level rise of 25 metres +/- 5 metres. Close
Relationship Between Past Warming And Sea-level Rise Example
projections of 0-7 m (yellow), 7-15 m (orange), 15-25 m (red)
flooding, based on http://freegeographytools.com/2007/sea-level-
rise-google-mapplet (Credit: Image courtesy of National
Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) ScienceDaily (July 7,
2009) — A team from the National Oceanography Centre,
Southampton (NOCS), along with colleagues from Tübingen
(Germany) and Bristol presents a novel continuous reconstruction
of sea level fluctuations over the last 520 thousand years.
Comparison of this record with data on global climate and carbon
dioxide (CO2) levels from Antarctic ice cores suggests that even
stabilisation at today's CO2 levels may commit us to sea-level
rise over the next couple of millennia, to a level much higher
than long-term projections from the Fourth Assessment