Change in global sea level and loss of Arctic land ice

Global sea level has been rising since the mid-1800s. During the 1900s, the average rate of sealevel rise was 1 to 2 mm each year. Since 1990, the rate of sea-level rise has increased. Global sea level is now rising faster than most of the projections in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third and Fourth Assessment Reports (published in 2001 and 2007). Between 2003 and 2008, global sea level rose by 2.5 mm/y on average. The melting of Arctic land ice, including the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributed 1.3 mm/y to this - over half (52%) of the total rise. Thermal expansion of the ocean contributed just 0.25 mm/y, and the Antarctic Ice Sheet an estimated 0.5 mm/y. Other contributors to sea-level rise are mountain glaciers in other parts of the world and changing amounts of water storage on land.