A new study by the Dutch Deltares Research Institute shows the Earth is actually gaining more land than it’s losing, disputing claims that climate change is causing increased sea level rise. The study showed our planet actually gained 107,000 square miles over the past three decades, including 21,000 square miles of coastline. That means continents are gaining in size, and not shrinking.
Conversely, the study showed the Earth had only lost 71,000 square miles of land during this same time period, including 12,500 square miles of shoreline. Some scientists have held that in a warming world, the coastlines would be the first casualties as melting ice sheets poured excess water into the oceans.
Even President-Elect Obama said in 2008 that his winning the election meant the rise of the oceans would now begin to slow. Turns out the oceans didn’t need his help after all.
Nature Climate Change Earth's surface water change over the past 30 years https://t.co/DzvoyNrwv3 @Deltares @TUDelft pic.twitter.com/zffEVFVlbu
— Water @ TU Delft (@wrmtudelft) August 25, 2016
Completely unexpected
The study’s researchers, led by Gennadii Donchyts, used a tool called the Deltares Aqua Monitor to formulate its conclusions, which were published in Nature Climate Change. The researchers had anticipated the coastlines were already receding only to discover they were gaining in size across the planet. One study author told BBC News they were surprised to find more land than the seas were taking.
Since leaving the last glaciation roughly 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, sea level rise has fluctuated up and down but has remained steady at about 2-3 mm per year. In some areas where thermal expansion is a major influence, it can be as high as 7 mm per year. But the overall average has remained relatively constant for the past 10,000 years.
Inconvenient truths abound
Indeed, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth showed land masses being swallowed up by rising sea levels. He predicted in 2006 it would be happening by now as a result of climate change. Since that time, his prediction—plus many others—has not come true. One reason is that Antarctica is actually gaining in size due to increased snow and ice.
Since satellite measurements began in the early '80s, Antarctica has grown roughly 33 percent, baffling scientists studying the continent. Some have blamed the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption for the slowdown in rising seas.
And a report last month by the activist group Union of Concerned Scientists said 18 military installations were at risk from rising seas because of hurricanes and tidal flooding. These military bases are on both the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, and with the help of computer models they predicted that by 2050, rising seas from climate change would put these installations at risk to flooding.
Modeling Study: Climate Change Risk Threatens 18 US Military Sites – Study by Warmist Group https://t.co/lbvYTi8PpU #feedly
— Marc Morano (@ClimateDepot) July 27, 2016
Their paper also noted the Pentagon was trying to get more money into its budget to adapt to climate change, claiming it needed “extra resources and monitoring systems.” That request failed in the House appropriations committee.
Additional studies back this up
An additional four studies also show current sea level rise was completely natural and has nothing to do with climate change. They showed no detectable man-made influences or long-term trends.
Four new peer-reviewed scientific publications show no detectable sea level rise signal. Like natural, man.https://t.co/pDAw1qYHza
— Green Mtn Patriots (@GreenMtnPatriot) August 2, 2016
These new studies showed external forces are not influencing sea level rise and sea level trends are still within long-term decadal variability. Obama has made climate change a major part of his legacy and has rolled out hundreds of new regulations to address it.
(Washington Examiner) #Obama warns against #Trump's anti-climate boasts : John Siciliano.. https://t.co/08HoK2vVFX pic.twitter.com/IoA9Q1wTz5
— InUSANews.com (@inusanewscom) September 1, 2016
Obama would do well to remember that science is constantly evolving as he continues his campaign of alarmist climate rhetoric during his final term.