Sea level rise may be higher this century: study

The sea-level rise this century might be greater than previously thought, posing risks to hundreds of millions of people living close to the world's oceans, says a joint study conducted by scientists.
These were the findings made in a study on ice loss from glaciers and ice caps, carried out by scientists from the Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (Instaar), the University of Colorado, and the Russian Academy of Sciences, sources said here on Saturday.
The study says in the near future, the giant Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will contribute less to the sea-level rise than glaciers and ice caps. It now contributes 60 percent of the ice melting into the oceans and the rate has accelerated over the past 10 years.
The study estimates that the accelerating melt of glaciers and ice caps could add from four inches to 9.5 inches of additional sea-level rise globally by 2100.
"A one-foot rise in sea-level causes a shoreline retreat of 100 feet or more, and about 100 million people now live within about three feet of the world's shorelines," it said.
It says the glaciers and ice caps are now contributing 100 cubic miles of ice annually to the sea-level rise - a volume nearly equal to the water in Lake Erie, the United States. This volume is rising by three cubic miles per year. In contrast, Greenland is now contributing 28 percent of the total global sea rise from ice loss and Antarctica is contributing 12 percent.
"While warming temperatures would likely cause many small high mountain glaciers in North America and Europe to disappear by the end of the century, large ice fields and ice caps would continue to produce large amounts of melt-water. Moreover, many 'cold' polar glaciers and ice caps would soon warm up enough to begin melting and contributing to sea rise," the study reveals.
The study suggested that the scientists need to start gathering benchmark information on some of the larger glaciers that are unlikely to disappear, for a long-term record of their behaviour.
"Since the world is becoming increasingly aware that sea-level rise is a very real problem, we need to acknowledge the role of all of the ice masses and understand the physical mechanisms by which they deliver water to the sea," it added.
The authors of the study say, "At the very least our projections indicate that future sea level rise might be larger than anticipated, and that the component due to glaciers and ice caps would continue to be substantial."