Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

The IPCC states sea levels threaten the Latin American population—a large proportion of which lives on the coast—by contaminating freshwater aquifers, eroding shorelines, inundating low-lying areas, and increasing the risks of storm surges, according to one assessment.

The massive amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the ocean dissolves in seawater as carbonic acid. This process is known as ocean acidification, and it's literally causing a sea change that is threatening the fundamental chemical balance of ocean and coastal waters from pole to pole.

Much of the coastal area surrounding the Mesoamerican reef and nearby islands is low-lying and vulnerable to sea level rise from climate change. Rising water temperatures cause more episodes of coral bleaching, which is devastating to reefs and the wildlife that depend on them. Ocean acidification, caused by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the water, also threatens the coral reefs.