section_path: Physical science/Sea level
section_name: Sea level
paragraph_text: Sea level
  
  Over most of geologic time, the sea level has been higher than it is today. The main factor affecting sea level over time is the result of changes in the oceanic crust, with a downward trend expected to continue in the very long term. At the last glacial maximum, some 20,000 years ago, the sea level was about 125 metres (410 ft) lower than in present times (2012).
  
  For at least the last 100 years, sea level has been rising at an average rate of about 1.8 millimetres (0.071 in) per year. Most of this rise can be attributed to an increase in the temperature of the sea due to climate change, and the resulting slight thermal expansion of the upper 500 metres (1,600 ft) of water. Additional contributions, as much as one quarter of the total, come from water sources on land, such as melting snow and glaciers and extraction of groundwater for irrigation and other agricultural and human needs.