BC Sea Level
Definition:
Observed change in sea level in BC from 1910 to 2014.
Measurement and Limitations:
The methods used to develop this indicator and more about change in sea level and other climate indicators are available in Indicators of Climate Change for British Columbia (2015-16 Update) (PDF, 4.5MB).
Sea level changes when the overall volume of water in the ocean increases or decreases and when land moves vertically from geological processes. Thermal expansion—when the atmosphere warms, sea water warms and expands in volume—is a major influence on past changes in sea level and is expected to make the greatest contribution to a rising sea level over the next century. This indicator measures changes in the average level of the sea relative to the adjacent land based on records from 1910 to 2014 at four tide gauges along the British Columbia coast.
- Average sea level has risen along most of the B.C. coast over the past century. Average sea level rose at a rate of 13.3 centimetres per century at Prince Rupert, 6.6 centimetres per century at Victoria and 3.7 centimetres per century at Vancouver. In contrast, average sea level fell at Tofino at the rate of 12.4 centimetres per century.
- Sea level trends identified for coastal B.C. reflect the combined impacts of climate change and vertical land movements. The coast of B.C. is still rising from a geological process called post-glacial rebound—the rising of land due to past thinning and retreat of the massive ice sheet that once covered much of the province. In addition, the shifting of the tectonic plates generates vertical land motion in coastal B.C. causing parts of Vancouver Island to rise.
- Variation in sea level change between the four B.C. sites is largely explained by different amounts of vertical land movement. Land along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island is rising at about 25 centimetres per century, while vertical land motion of Prince Rupert is negligible, thus explaining the approximately 25 centimetres difference in sea-level change between Tofino and Prince Rupert.
Source:
Province of British Columbia, Environmental Reporting
References:
Indicators of Climate Change for British Columbia (2016 Update)
Library of climate resources – Canada.ca
BC Sea Level in the Sustainable Development Goals
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13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow.
People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events. The greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and continue to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3 degrees Celsius this century—with some areas of the world expected to warm even more. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.
Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts.
But climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level and it requires international cooperation to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.
To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. The Agreement entered into force shortly thereafter, on 4 November 2016. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. You can learn more about the agreement here.
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See which countries have signed it and which ones have deposited their ratification instruments.