Sea Level Rise
The links on this page provide answers to questions about how much the sea has risen, how much it might rise, and what the impacts might be. Resources for overall climate change adaptation planning, including resources for adaptation options, planning frameworks and more, can be found on the Coastal Adaptation Toolkit page.
Change so far
Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Sea Level
Global average sea level change from the EPA's Report on the Environment
Global mean sea level from satellite radar altimeters
Sea level trends at NOAA tide gauges (includes land movement)
Future sea level rise
Reports
Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States (January 2017). A report and an additional data file are available for NOAA Technical Report CO-OPS 083. Pay attention to both the global information and the regional corrections.
Patterns and Projections of High Tide Flooding. NOAA Technical Report CO-OPS 086 (February 2018) also has an accompanying data file.
Department of Defense Report on Regional Sea Level Scenarios for Coastal Risk Management (April 2016)
Projections tools
USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator. Provides graphical and tabular output for various scenarios, including NOAA 2017.
USACE Sea Level Tracker. Plots actual sea level vs. projected sea level changes.
Map based viewers
NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer
Surging Seas Exit from Climate Central
Sea Level Rise Tool for Sandy Recovery from NOAA in partnership with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
What are the impacts?
Coastal Sensitivity to Sea Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region. SAP 4.1, especially Parts I and II
Risk identification checklists, from Step 3 of the Being Prepared for Climate Change workbook