East Anglia is sinking. Is it not more correct to say the sea level is rising?

Question

BBC 1 Countryfile, 4. May.

Answer 1

Or, you may have subsidence.  Happens in some areas due to natural causes, mining, oil drilling, or the like.  There are some inland areas in California near Bakersfield where the long term extraction of oil has caused the surface to drop several feet.

Answer 2

either way i am screwed cos i live in west suffolk and um that aint far from the coast

Answer 3

Great and me smack bang in the middle of it! gak!

Answer 4

Interesting.....you can have instances of areas sinking as in the case of Venice....and areas of land can actually sink...but I think you are right...it is probably the sea level which is rising.

Answer 5

It depends on whether the land is sinking relative to the rest of the earth or not. If every coastline in the world is rising at the same rate as yours then the sea level would be said to be rising. However, if your coasline is rising at a higher rate than other places, then your land is sinking. I am not too familiar with the East Anglia penninsula however so that would be a question for a local geologist.

Answer 6

I suppose it relates to how we measure - what the 'origin' or base line is.  If sea level is the baseline, then the land is sinking relative to that.  But if the cause is the rising sea level (global warming et al) then the phrase does seem to be misleading!