Climate change might not be the only reason for sea level rise.

By utilizing space geodetic observation technology and hydrological change data, a research team from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have analyzed the estimated changes in land water storage over the past four decades.

The increasing frequency of agricultural and ecological drought which normally occur once in a decade motivates the research.

The study reveals the following;

1. Between 2000 and 2002, the global land water storage declined significantly with 1,614 billion tons of water lost to the oceans which is equivalent to 4.5mm rise in sea levels.

2. A notable decline in global average soil moisture was observed from 2003 to 2021.

3. Earth pole shifted 58cm towards 93⁰ East longitude, which further demonstrate the continued decline in soil moisture leading to a reduction in land water storage.

4. Precipitation deficit caused by global warming are likely the contributing factors for the sudden decline in land water storage.

5. With increasing agricultural irrigation, soil moisture may further diminish, especially in semi-arid regions.

In summary, global warming and climate change are not the only major causes of sea level rise, a decrease in soil moisture can shift land water storage to oceans leading to sea level rise.

Have you ever imagine this possibility?, Share your thoughts in the comments.

Interested in further reading?, Access the full journal: Ki-Weon Seo, Dongryeol Ryu, Taehwan Jeon, Kookhyoun Youm, Jae-Seung Kim, Earthu H. Oh, Jianli Chen, James S. Famiglietti, Clark R. Wilson. Abrupt sea level rise and Earth’s gradual pole shift reveal permanent hydrological regime changes in the 21st century. Science, 2025; 387 (6741): 1408 DOI: 10.1126/science.adq6529

Photo Credit: Meta AI

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