Final answer:
Evidence of relative rises in sea level includes sediment deposition patterns, sediment cores, and satellite measurements, revealing the complex factors contributing to sea-level rise like ice melt, thermal expansion, and geological changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Overall, sea-level rise is a complex phenomenon with contributions from various factors including ice melt, thermal expansion, and regional geological changes such as subsidence or uplift. For relative rises in sea level, evidence is left in various forms that can be studied to understand past climate and sea level changes. One key form of evidence is the geological record, which includes patterns in sediment layers that accumulate over time. These patterns show a stacking or onlapping of sediments towards the coastline, indicative of transgressive sequences related to sea-level rise. Sediment cores, which contain layers of limestone, shale, and sandstone, can reveal how the sea level changed over time. Satellite measurements also provide data on modern sea-level rise at rates currently averaging 3.6 mm per year, influenced largely by melting ice due to increased global temperatures and thermal expansion of ocean water.