Revisiting the Earth's sea-level and energy budgets from 1961-2008

From 1972 to 2008, the observed sea-level rise (1.8 {plus minus} 0.2 mm yr-1 from tide gauges alone and 2.1 {plus minus} 0.2 mm yr-1 from a combination of tide gauges and altimeter observations) agrees well with the sum of contributions (1.8 {plus minus} 0.4 mm yr-1) in magnitude and with both having similar increases in the rate of rise during the period.

The largest contributions come from ocean thermal expansion (0.8 mm yr-1) and the melting of glaciers and ice caps (0.7 mm yr-1), with Greenland and Antarctica contributing about 0.4 mm yr-1. The cryospheric contributions increase through the period (particularly in the 1990s) but the thermosteric contribution increases less rapidly. We include an improved estimate of aquifer depletion (0.3 mm yr-1), partially offsetting the retention of water in dams and giving a total terrestrial storage contribution of -0.1 mm yr-1.