Sea level rise and its spatial variations

This report was written at the request of Dirk Jan Sloot (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, Directoraat-Generaal Water en Bodem). It aims at helping non-specialists understand recent the sea level rise science to make better decisions. The central question we try to answer is: why is sea level not rising at the same pace everywhere around the globe? To anwser this question we focus on explaining the basic physical processes at play in sea level rise and which ones dominate total sea level at different length and time scale. This report could also serve as a entry point into the specialised literature that is cited. It forms the basis for a presentation at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Projection of sea level in 2100 compared to the period 1986-2005 for a selection of cities, including Saba, Dutch Caribbean