Sea level rise and inhabited coastlines. Ice shelves and sea ice do not contribute to sea level but they can buttress the land ice sheets from rapid retreat. Causes of Sea Level Rise: •Melting of glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets •Thermal expansion of sea water ••Small scale changes due to anthropogenic land water storage (damming rivers, over-pumping of water and fuels, wetland and forest destruction) •Relative changes in sea level due to tectonic movements (land subsidence or rebound)