On the Spanish coasts, the sea level increased at a rate of 1.6 millimeters per year from 1948 to 2019 while, since that year, the rate at which the sea level rises is 2.8 millimeters, almost the same. double. This is the main conclusion of a study led by scientists from the Mediterranean Group on Climate Change (GCC) of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), in collaboration with the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA), whose results have been published in Geosciences magazine.
The study analyzes monthly series of sea level in different ports around the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, using data from tide gauges dating back to the early 1940s. , as well as altimetry data from satellites since 1993.
The analysis of these time series shows that the sea level increased at a rate of 1.6 millimeters per year from 1948 to 2019 while, since that year, the rate at which the sea level rises is 2.8 millimeters. , almost double.
“The acceleration of the speed at which the sea level rises reflects that the current threat posed by climate change, far from being on the way to a solution, is worsening,” explains Manuel Vargas, a physicist at the IEO Oceanographic Center of Malaga. -CSIC and co-author of the work, in statements released by the SINC agency.
The scientific team that authored the study has also analyzed the contribution of different factors to this rise in sea level. In all the regions analyzed, a part of this increase is due to the heating of the waters, which produces their thermal expansion and the consequent increase in their volume. This contribution has been quantified at about 0.8 millimeters per year.
The most important factor is the increase in the mass of water, presumably caused by the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, a factor that would have contributed to the rise of approximately 1.4 millimeters per year.
“For countries like ours, with a large coastline, this rise in the sea will have serious effects, such as the retreat of the coastline and loss of beaches, or the greater impact of storms on coastal constructions and infrastructures,” Vargas points out.
“This study highlights the need to maintain surveillance and monitoring systems for our seas to know exactly the changes that are taking place in themâ€, concludes the scientist.
