Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability
Article Type: Books and resources From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 5, Issue 1
Edited by John A. Church, Philip L. Woodworth, Thorkild Aarup and W. Stanley WilsonWileyOxford2010456 pp.€48.00ISBN 9781444334524
This book is based on the deliberations of a workshop organized in Paris,France, on 6-9 June 2006, under the auspices of the World Climate Research Program. The aim of the workshop was to provide a robust assessment of our current understanding as well as the requirements for narrowing projections of future sea-level rise.
Almost 100 scientists have contributed to Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability. The book contains 13 chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the importance of studying the subject of sea-level rise and variability and highlights the aims of all the chapters contained in the book.
Chapter 2 deals with the importance of “optimistic” and “pessimistic”views on sea-level rise suggesting that a combination of mitigation and adaptation policies are the best way to combat the problem, as these two policies will produce better results when combined than when followed independently, and together they address both immediate and longer-term concerns.
Chapter 3 shows that the impact of sea-level rise on new offshore structures is likely to be small while for coastal installations, such as refineries and gas-processing facilities, long-term trends in sea level are of greater significance over the expected life of new and existing infrastructure.
Chapter 4 analyzes the evidence for changes on millennial and multicentury timescales with the use of geological and archaeological data.
Chapter 5 looks at modern efforts of making precise estimates of the rate of globally averaged sea-level change. Also, the chapter makes recommendations of what must be done to further this goal.
Chapter 6 discusses the uncertainties in the historical hydrographic data sets and in the numerical modeling of steric sea-level change, the progress made in recent years with the deployments of the Argo profiling float system, and requirements for monitoring of the ocean and for reliably determining steric sea-level change in the future.
Chapter 7 discusses our current knowledge of changes in the cryosphere and indicates the basis of the most important uncertainties. Chapter 7 also reviews the many detailed requirements for measurements and for deeper understanding via modeling of the dynamics of ice flows.
Chapter 8 analyzes why uncertainties in terrestrial water storage occur and suggests that future monitoring systems, based especially on space gravity and a special space “water mission”, will provide a real reduction in uncertainties.
Chapter 9 identifies critical geodetic requirements to meet the rigorous scientific demands for understanding sea-level rise and its variability, and thus contribute to improving its prediction. In particular, the chapter stresses the need for the continuity of the geodetic observational series that serve basic research, applications and operational needs.
Chapter 10 offers a survey of recent advances in understanding of solid Earth processes that have bearing on the analysis of global sea-level trends. This chapter also highlights the notion of sea-level fingerprinting and advocates the procedure as a framework for extracting information regarding source contributions from the complexity of observed sea-level trends.
Chapter 11 considers the evidence for changes in extreme sea levels during the last century, covers past changes in storm surges, waves, and mid-latitude and tropical storms and discusses the limitations involved in modeling changes in storminess. The chapter also examines results from regional case studies.
Chapter 12 discusses both existing and new observing system technologies which constitute requirements for reducing sea-level uncertainties.
Chapter 13 offers an overview of the progress and recommendations drawn from each chapter as well as a general guide to future research. It ends with a discussion of the implications of society.
The book is written in an elegant and inviting writing style. The book is quite thoroughly searched. It is also open and honest about uncertainty. Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability is full of information, cases and methodologies. The book is for everyone interested in sea-level rise and its impacts, including policy makers, engineers, researchers, university teachers and students.
Evangelos ManolasDepartment of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece
