Climate research distorted? Sea levels aren't rising – the coastline is sinking! Climate Review 236
A recent study from Rutgers University in New Jersey, titled (translated) "Modern Sea Level Rise Ends 4,000 Years of Stability in Southeast China," by Yucheng Lin and his team, reconstructs the sea level along the Chinese coast and concludes that it remained largely stable until the mid-19th century. It was only around 1850, with the end of the 400-year Little Ice Age, that it began to rise again. Lin's article was published in the journal Nature in October 2025.
The Nature study was immediately seized upon by the mass media and quoted in a surprisingly one-sided manner. For example, the German public broadcaster MDR ran the headline "1.51 Millimeters per Year: Fastest Sea Level Rise in 4,000 Years." Die Zeit writes: "Sea levels off the coast of China have risen faster in 120 years than at any time in thousands of years. The reason is the expansion of warmer seas and melting glaciers."
The study was immediately seized upon by the mass media and quoted in a surprisingly biased way. But are these claims true? A reading of the article's summary reveals the opposite, as the science blog "Sciencefiles" pointed out.
The authors clearly identify land subsidence, rather than the frequently cited increase in ocean water volume, as the primary cause of CO2-driven, human-induced climate change.
The article's summary states unequivocally: "Furthermore, our analysis shows that at least 94% of rapid modern urban land subsidence is attributable to anthropogenic activities, with local subsidence rates often exceeding the rise in global sea level."
LINKS:
https://sciencefiles.org/2025/10/20/n...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...
https://www.mdr.de/wissen/umwelt-klim...
https://www.zeit.de/wissen/umwelt/202...
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