Thomas Ruppert, Coastal Planning Specialist: This primer on sea-level rise (SLR) offers information on its causes and what this may mean for Florida. Has Sea Level Changed Before? Yes. Sea levels around the globe have fallen and risen dramatically over millions of years, driven primarily by glacial advance and retreat. Sea-level changes in the distant past were often substantial and occurred faster than our current change. After the last ice age ended approximately 20,000 years ago, sea level rose rapidly, but for the last few thousand years has been rising very slowly and has been almost stable for the last 4-5 thousand years.
