Mean Sea Level: The Effect of the Rise in the Environment

Abstract

Mean sea level is a significant phenomenon in geodetic science and oceanography. The sea level has experienced an unprecedented rise recently, and this increase can be attributed to various human-induced activities (anthropogenic factors) ranging from deforestation to the burning of fossil fuels and population increases. Several factors cause sea level rise. It has been identified that the thermal expansion of ocean water and the melting of glaciers add to the volume of water, causing global sea level to rise, whereas phenomena such as ocean current, wind, and pressure are responsible for the regional sea level rise. This paper identifies climate change and global warming as the drivers of some factors causing sea level to rise. The effect of sea-level rise has resulted in the loss of agricultural lands, the destruction of transportation infrastructure, the loss of lands in coastal zones and migration, and the death of some aquatic animals due to saltwater intrusion. In this paper, we reviewed several pieces of literature published between 2017 and 2021 on sea-level rise and the cascading impacts of sea-level rise in various world areas. The papers reviewed borders on the mean sea level rise from different geographical areas on Earth and the monitoring of sea-level rise using different techniques. Some recommendations were also proposed for consideration.