Copernicus Sentinel-6 over the Andes

Without doubt, climate change is the primary cause of sea-level rise. When we think of climate change, melting polar ice is probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, ice melting from mountain glaciers is also a big cause. A paper published in Nature describes much ice has been lost from and gained by 19 different glacierised regions around the world. 9625 gigatonnes of ice was lost from 1961 to 2016, raising sea level by 27 mm. See graphic: Global glacier mass loss 1961–2016.

Copernicus Sentinel-6 is taking on the role of radar altimetry reference mission, continuing the long-term record of measurements of sea-surface height to monitor sea-level rise and to help scientists further understand how ice loss from the poles, from glaciers and because of ocean water thermal expansion is causing our seas to rise.