Oceans, glaciers and permafrost | Knowledge for policy

Foresight

Due to rising temperatures, glaciers and ice caps have been melting and as a result sea levels as well as temperatures have been rising;
Sea levels are rising at an average rate of 3.4 millimetres per year, mainly due to melting glaciers and sea ice, and expansion of sea water as it warms
September Arctic sea ice is declining at an average rate of 13.3% per decade, relative to the 1981-2010 average;
Ocean acidification is increasing as a result of increasing concentrations of CO2, affecting marine ecosystems;
As the Arctic warms faster than anywhere else on earth, the thawing of permafrost could release mercury at a rate much faster than it would occur naturally, with potential consequences to the environment and the food chain.

Originally Published	25 Jul 2018
Knowledge service \| Metadata	Foresight \| The Megatrends Hub \| Climate change and environmental degradation
Digital Europa Thesaurus (DET)	climate change degradation of the environment Environment ocean