Why is the sea level rising in certain areas but falling in others?

Question

here is a map that shows the rise and falls http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/images/seaLevelRiseFall.jpg

Answer 1

if you research this subject you will learn that this planet is ever changing. the water is rising in one area & covering existing land masses, while in another part of the world islands are literally coming up out of the water in areas where the water is falling. this is all a natural phenomenon that has occurred throughout history, & will continue to happen  as long as this planet continues to exist.

have-a-loving-day!

Answer 2

The land in eastern Canada/US is still rising (rebounding) from being depressed by trillions of tons of ice during the last iceage.    The Hawai'i islands are sinking because they're huge volcanoes that are bending the earths crust down with their weight.

Answer 3

Subsidence is hard to unravel from tide stations.

Answer 4

Because we live on an Oblate Spheroid that is subjected to the gravitational pull of other heavenly objects.

Answer 5

That's a good question. How can we tell with any certainty that the sea level in any given location is rising. Maybe the land is rising or sinking. What is the reference point.

Answer 6

Geological forces cause the land to rise or sink (e.g. plate tectonics) at various rates around the world.  This is why you can't simply put physical tide gauges at a few points around the world and average them to get an accurate global sea-level rise measurement.

A recent report from my own area (coast of Washington) actually shows that the sea-level will appear (from a human observer on land) to be dropping because it's rise is slower than the land rise in that area.

Answer 7

Clearly, there are areas close to where the highest rise is near the lowest.  This is evidence that the places where the measurements are taking place are actually subsiding or rising.  This is more common than you might think.