Sea level

The sea level is influenced on a global scale by many factors, where the volume change of a water mass in changing temperatures; water mass exchange with ice caps and glaciers on land; changing storage of water on land (both surface water and groundwater).An increase in temperature (e.g. due to greenhouse gas emissions of human origin) may lead to an expansion of sea water and the melting of ice caps, leading to an increase in sea levels and increased flood hazard in lower lying areas. Depletion of groundwater resources (under the influence of rising temperatures) also contributes to sea-level rise, as pumped and used groundwater ultimately flows to the sea to a large extent.