I didn't mean to deny the possibility that the problem in the Maldives could
be due to a genuine rise in water level due to global warming.  My point was
simply that IF global warming and increased water depth are the problem in the
Maldives, then the phenomenon would have to exist worldwide as well, not just
in that one geographic location.  Water seeks its own level, whether in a
drinking glass, a bathtub, a lake, or a planetary ocean system.  You cannot
have a sustained "pileup" of water in one area, relative to surrounding areas.
Any new influx of water into the system flows and redistributes itself, such
that the entire water mass is "self-leveling" (or perhaps "self-equilibrating"
would be a more accurate term, since the surface of the ocean is actually
curved, not "level").  If there is a worldwide increase in water depth due to
global warming, then a place like the Maldives, only a few meters above sea
level, would likely be impacted more seriously than a place hundreds of meters
above sea level.  But, if there is a long-term apparent increase in water
level in one isolated geographic area, without a concomitant global increase,
then that phenomenon is likely due to land mass submergence, not to actual
elevation of water level.
Paul M.