Sea Level Rise Accelerates Over Time

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    ID: 4853 Visualization

    27-year Sea Level Rise - TOPEX/JASON

    Nov. 5th, 2020
    (updated Aug. 28th, 2023)

    Sea surface height change from 1992 to 2019, with colorbar || This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites. Blue regions are where sea level has gone down, and orange/red regions are where sea level has gone up. Since 1992, seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 6 inches. The color range for this visualization is -15 cm to +15 cm (-5.9 inches to +5.9 inches), though measured data extends above and below 15 cm (5.9 inches). This particular range was chosen to highlight variations in sea level change. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4345 Visualization

    22-year Sea Level Rise - TOPEX/JASON

    Aug. 26th, 2015
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    Spinning globe showing TOPEX/JASON 22-year sea level data. Earth spins once before camera zooms into West Atlantic, East Pacific, and West Pacific regions. With colorbarThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. || This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2014, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, and Jason-2 satellites. Blue regions are where sea level has gone down, and orange/red regions are where sea level has gone up. Since 1992, seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 3 inches. The color range for this visualization is -7 cm to +7 cm (-2.76 inches to +2.76 inches), though measured data extends above and below 7cm(2.76 inches). This particular range was chosen to highlight variations in sea level change. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4022 Visualization

    Measuring Elevation Changes on the Greenland Ice Sheet

    March 25th, 2014
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Since the late 1970's, NASA has been monitoring changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet. Recent analysis of seven years of surface elevation readings from NASA's ICESat satellite and four years of laser and and ice-penetrating radar data from NASA's airborne mission Operation IceBridge shows us how the surface elevation of the ice sheet has changed.The colors shown on the surface of the ice sheet represent the accumulated change in elevation since 2003. The light yellow over the central region of the ice sheet indicates a slight thickening due to snow. This accumulation, along with the weight of the ice sheet, pushes ice toward the coast. Thinning near coastal regions, shown in green, blue and purple, has increased over time and now extends into the interior of the ice sheet where the bedrock topography permits. As a result, there has been an average loss of 300 cubic kilometers of ice per year between 2003 and 2012.This animation portrays the changes occurring in the surface elevation of the ice sheet since 2003 in three drainage regions: the southeast, the northeast and the Jakobshavn regions. In each region, the time advances to show the accumulated change in elevation from 2003 through 2012.—><!——><!—Above: Move bar to compare the change in surface elevation (left) to the bedrock topography (right) in the northeast region. Download HTML to embed this in your web page.The ice sheet is cut away to reveal how the bedrock topography beneath the ice sheet affects the movement of glacial ice in each region. The bedrock topography is colored by elevation with areas below sea level shown in brown and areas above sea level shown in green. Yellow indicates regions at sea level. —><!——><!—Above: Move bar to compare the change in the surface elevation (left) to the bedrock topography (right) in the Jakobshavn region. Download HTML to embed this in your web page.The bedrock topography affects the movement of the ice sheet. Blue/white velocity flows indicate the direction and speed of the ice over time. Slower moving ice is shown as shorter blue flow lines while faster moving ice is shown as longer white flow lines. ||

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