ABSTRACT. Projections of the steric sea level change for the 21st century. The following paper is based on the data offered by the Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (2007), as well as on more recent studies, which are used to develop the theme of the steric sea level changes and the way they are projected to evolve in the 21st century. Having the form of a bibliographical study, it describes the present and future characteristics of the steric component, its spatial and temporal distribution, and focuses on the limitations and sources of error associated to future predictions, which result into an estimated average rate of steric sea level change of 2.9 ± 1.4 mm/year.
Key words: sea level, IPCC, steric, future projection, variable