The secret to rising sea levels
Of the many environmental impacts imposed by climate change, rising sea levels are often discussed. The cause of this may not be as obvious as it seems. While a portion of the increase comes from the likes of melting glaciers, another more surprising phenomenon helps to explain the increase in water volume: Thermal Expansion. Check out AsapSCIENCE's video explaining this natural phenomenon.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
1) Here are two case studies about Tuvalu, a remote island that is extremely susceptible to the impact of thermal expansion:http://www.ifrc.org/Global/Case%20studies/Disasters/cs-tuvalu-en.pdfhttp://www.teatime-mag.com/magazines/wp-content/themes/tt/print/teatime14/print.pdf2) Here is a comprehensive article about the impact of thermal expansion from NASA:http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OceanCooling/page5.php3) Here are a series of visuals to help your comprehend how matter can expand and compress:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/chemical_material_behaviour/behaviour_of_matter/revise2.shtml4) Here is an advanced scientific paper entitled "Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2632717/