Sea levels 'could rise by more than one meter'

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Climate change could drive up sea levels by twice as much as previously predicted, a scientist has warned at a Canberra conference. In a 2007 report, scientists working for the UN concluded sea levels could rise by 18 to 59cm by the end of this century.

Tim Naish, an Antarctic researcher at New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington, said new data suggested sea levels could rise by a metre or more within that time. His work examining sediment cores from Antarctica's seafloor indicates if the planet were two to three degrees warmer, it would have a dramatic effect on the polar ice sheet.

A sea level rise of 1m could have devastating effects for coastal communities around the world, including in Australia....