Student Project . . How Warming Water Causes Sea Level Rise Jet Propulsion Laboratory https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ Last Updated: Oct. 11, 2024 Subject Science Time Required 1-2 hrs Grade Levels 4-12 Sea level rise is caused by several different processes, including melting ice. But one big contributor to sea level rise is increasing global temperatures, which heat seas and cause something called thermal expansion of water. Thermal expansion happens when water gets warmer, which causes the volume of