The Attacking Ocean: The Past, Present, And Future Of Rising Sea Levels

The past fifteen thousand years—the entire span of human civilization—has witnessed dramatic sea level changes, beginning with rapid global warming at the end of the Ice Age. Over the next ten millennia, the oceans rose in fits and starts. These rapid changes had little effect on humans at the time, partly because of the small population and their ability to adapt to new coastlines.

Sea levels stabilized about six thousand years ago, with local variations affecting regions like the Nile Delta. As urban civilizations developed, the rising seas flattened out, and human populations surged, increasing the risk along coastlines.

Since 1860, global warming has caused the sea levels to rise more rapidly. These changes are gradual and cumulative, with no certainty when they will end. Brian Fagan's The Attacking Ocean explores the evolving relationship between humans and the sea, emphasizing that the changes are driven not by the oceans but by us, the growing human population.