INTERVIEW – Éric Rignot is a specialist in melting ice, a researcher at JPL (Nasa/Caltech) and professor of geosciences at the University of California, Irvine.
Thanks to satellite observations, Éric Rignot actively monitors the effect of global warming on the melting of glaciers, which contribute to the rise in sea levels.
LE FIGARO. – What do you think of the rise in sea level, which is accelerating at the rate of 4.5 mm per year on average over five years?
Eric RIGNOT. – It takes some time to confirm this trend. Let us remember that there is an annual variability in the rise in sea level which had fallen back a little in 2010. But this drop was linked to increased land reserves of water, which had increased punctually, particularly in Australia, which then faded away. After an annual increase of between 2.8 and 3 mm per year, the rate increased between 3 mm and 3.5 mm per year. It is therefore not surprising that the increase is increasing. Ice melting is accelerating in all regions. The current trend of faster rate of sea level rise reflects the fact that melting ice…
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