SEA LEVEL RISE

The term “sea level” can have a lot of meanings depending on the context where it is used. Firstly it is necessary to distinguish between a global average sea level that is obtained though an average of measurements in a very wide area or even in all the oceanic surface, and a local sea level, related to a small area (for example the Gulf of Naples)

If we think of what the sea has always meanted for man, since prehistoric times, we have realized, that this caracteristic element of our

country has a geographic and environmental importance: as source of aliments and businesses, incomparable scenic attraction. The research about the sea bed, the sea water and the movements have had a big development in recent times with expeditions organised by scientific institutions in various countries ( USA, Russia, France, Japan, Italy…). The marine hydrosphere is subject to numerous movements that are

very weak in comparison with the dimensions of the surfaces.

CAUSES

-Waves

-Tides

-Currents

At a local scale, short-term varations (daily, monthly and annal) are possible causes related to the weather and sea (tides, winds)

changes in atmospheric pressure. The oscillations can also lead to the rising of the sea level, as in the case of Venice.

THE MEDITERRANEAN

The sea temperatures have extremes between 10°c and 32°c.Some studies estimate a mean rise of the Mediterranean temperatures of 6°c between 2070 and 2100.

In the Mediterranean the rise during the last century was like the globalaverage but below the global one.

Infact ours is an enclosed sea and the growing warming "could induce an

increase of the evaporation of the basin which in turn could cause a slight deceleration of the sea level

growth "

The Mediterranean sea level risks a rise of 15-20 cm by 2050 and of 25-30 cm by the end of the century. VARIABILITY OF THE SEA LEVEL IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE BASIN DETERMINED BY CURRENTS:

- VENICE - SOUTHERN VENETO - MONFALCONE-RAVENNA -LEVANTE LIGURE -HIGH TUSCANY-MAREMMA -ROME -EASTERN SICILY

According to geological theory, in antiquity Sicily was part of the mainland. This idea is supported by the fact that the Peloritan mountains of Sicily are of the same rock as those of Calabria , thus the separation of Sicily was probably due to rising sea level.