Final answer:
Accurately predicting future sea level rise is challenging due to the complex interplay of factors such as global warming, melting ice, and thermal expansion, coupled with regional variations and the slow response of ocean temperatures to changes in CO2 levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Predicting future rising of sea levels with accuracy is difficult due to a range of complex and interacting factors. These factors include the rate of global warming, the consequent melting of ice caps and glaciers, and the thermal expansion of ocean water. As average ocean temperatures rise, the water expands, contributing to sea level rise. However, rising temperatures also lead to melting land ice, which adds more water to the oceans.
For instance, the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could add up to an additional foot of sea level rise.
Another layer of complexity comes from how climate change impacts on ice sheets are less understood, making it more challenging to predict their contribution to sea level rise. Furthermore, regional factors like land subsidence or uplift, local currents, winds, and proximity to melting ice sheets can affect sea levels differently in various places.
These regional and local conditions add to the complexity of projecting accurate sea level changes. Finally, even if carbon dioxide emissions were to stop today, the warming that has already occurred would continue to have effects due to the slow process towards equilibrium in the ocean's temperature.