Flooding of coastal communities is one of the major causes of environmental disasters world-wide. This textbook explains at a basic level, how sea levels are affected by astronomical tides, by weather effects that generate extreme flooding events, and over the longer term by ocean circulation and climate trends. It also indicates how sea level changes are related to changing risks, coastal dynamics, geology and biology; and outlines some of the economic and legal implications. Based on courses taught by the author in the UK and the USA, this book is aimed at undergraduate students at all levels, with the text developed in such a way that non-basic mathematics is confined to Appendices and a web site (http://publishing.cambridge.org/resources/0521532183/). Changing Sea Levels will also interest and inform professionals in many fields including hydrography, coastal engineering, geology, biology and also coastal planning and economics.