Note: UNDERSTANDING SEA-LEVEL RISE AND VARIABILITY -- Contents -- Editor Biographies -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- 1: Introduction -- References -- 2: Impacts of and Responsesto Sea-Level Rise -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Climate Change and Global/Relative Sea-Level Rise -- 2.3 Sea-Level Rise and Resulting Impacts -- 2.4 Framework and Methods for the Analysis of Sea-Level-Rise Impacts -- 2.5 Recent Impacts of Sea-Level Rise -- 2.6 Future Impacts of Sea-Level Rise -- 2.7 Responding to Sea-Level Rise -- 2.8 Next Steps -- 2.9 Concluding Remarks -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 3: A First-Order Assessment of the Impact of Long-Term Trends in Extreme Sea Levels on Offshore Structures and Coastal Refineries -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Design Considerations -- 3.3 Impact of Long-Term Trends in Extreme Sea Levels -- 3.4 Evaluating the Economic Impact -- 3.5 Conclusions -- References -- 4: Paleoenvironmental Records, Geophysical Modeling, and Reconstruction of Sea-Level Trends and Variability on Centennial and Longer Timescales -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Past Sea-Level Changes -- 4.3 Sea-Level Indicators -- 4.4 Geophysical Modeling of Variability in Relative Sea-Level History -- 4.5 Regional Case Studies -- 4.6 Discussion and Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 5: Modern Sea-Level-Change Estimates -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Estimates from Proxy Sea-Level Records -- 5.3 Estimates of Global Sea-Level Change from Tide Gauges -- 5.4 Estimates of Global Sea-Level Change from Satellite Altimetry -- 5.5 Recommendations -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 6: Ocean Temperature and Salinity Contributions to Global and Regional Sea-Level Change -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Direct Estimates of Steric Sea-Level Rise -- 6.3 Estimating Steric Sea-Level Change Using Ocean Syntheses. , 6.4 Inferring Steric Sea Level from Time-Variable Gravity and Sea Level -- 6.5 Modeling Steric Sea-Level Rise -- 6.6 Conclusions and Recommendations -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 7: Cryospheric Contributions to Sea-Level Rise and Variability -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Mass-Balance Techniques -- 7.3 Ice-Sheet Mass Balance -- 7.4 Mass Balance of Glaciers and Ice Caps -- 7.5 Glacier, Ice-Cap, and Ice-Sheet Modeling -- 7.6 Summary and Recommendations -- References -- 8: Terrestrial Water-Storage Contributions to Sea-Level Rise and Variability -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Analysis Tools -- 8.3 Climate-Driven Changes of Terrestrial Water Storage -- 8.4 Direct Anthropogenic Changes of Terrestrial Water Storage -- 8.5 Synthesis -- 8.6 Recommendations -- References -- 9: Geodetic Observations and Global Reference Frame Contributions to Understanding Sea-Level Rise and Variability -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Global and Regional Reference Systems -- 9.3 Linking GPS to Tide Gauges and Tide-Gauge Benchmarks -- 9.4 Recommendations for Geodetic Observations -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 10: Surface Mass Loading on a Dynamic Earth:Complexity and Contamination in the Geodetic Analysis of Global Sea-Level Trends -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Glacial Isostatic Adjustment -- 10.3 Sea Level, Sea Surface, and the Geoid -- 10.4 Rapid Melting and Sea-Level Fingerprints -- 10.5 Great Earthquakes -- 10.6 Final Remarks -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 11: Past and Future Changes in Extreme Sea Levels and Waves -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Evidence for Changes in Extreme Sea Levels and Waves in the Recent Past -- 11.3 Mid-Latitude and Tropical Storms: Changes in the Atmospheric Drivers of Extreme Sea Level -- 11.4 Future Extreme Water Levels -- 11.5 Future Research Needs -- 11.6 Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- References. , 12: Observing Systems Needed to Address Sea-evel Rise and Variability -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Sustained, Systematic Observing Systems(Existing Capabilities) -- 12.3 Development of Improved Observing Systems(New Capabilities) -- 12.4 Summary -- References -- 13: Sea-Level Rise and Variability: Synthesis and Outlook for the Future -- 13.1 Historical Sea-Level Change -- 13.2 Why is Sea Level Rising? -- 13.3 The Regional Distribution of Sea-Level Rise -- 13.4 Projections of Sea-Level Rise for the 21st Century and Beyond -- 13.5 Changes in Extreme Events -- 13.6 Sea Level and Society -- References -- Index.