New studies reveal that water consumption worldwide may be contributing to sea level rise as dramatically as melting land ice. Freshwater from the world’s aquifers is being pumped for human use, channeled into agriculture and municipal wells—and ultimately into rivers and then oceans. Sea level expert Robert Nicholls of the University of Southampton in England said that climate change will remain the significant driver of sea level rise. But even if society managed to mitigate climate issues, burgeoning ground water consumption would contribute to sea level rise. While reservoirs have so far offset freshwater flowing into the world’s ocean, aquifer systems have caused sea level rise at an average rate of one millimeter per year since 1961.

Read more at The Guardian.