One of the consequences of burning fossil fuels and land use change, both of which are drivers of the climate change boundary, is accelerating sea level rise: Thermal expansion of the oceans combined with rapid land ice loss. Local factors play a role too: the land “rebound” effect of melting glaciers, sedimentation, fossil fuel and water extraction leading to subsidence, and even ocean currents, but the global acceleration in sea level rise since 1990 is driven mostly by climate change.
When many people think of sea level rise they often think of the vertical rise, but something that isn’t always considered is how far inland the water goes for every centimetre of rise. So how do you highlight this? Sometimes real practical models are a great way to demonstrate the impacts of crossing planetary boundaries so in a recent video we made we did exactly that. We built a beach in miniature to show the surprising impacts, and causes of sea level rise for an explainer video. Watch the video to find out more:
