%0 book part %@ %A Lowe, J.A.,Woodworth, P.L.,Knutson, T.,McDonald, R.E.,McInnes, K.L.,Woth, K.,Storch, H.v.,Wolf, J.,Swail, V.,Bernier, N.B.,Gulev, S.,Horsburgh, K.J.,Unnikrishnan, A.S.,Hunter, J.R.,Weisse, R. %D 2010 %J Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability %N %P 326-376 %T Past and Future Changes in Extreme Sea Levels and Waves %U %X This chapter discusses changes in extreme sea levels and waves and is divided into four parts. First, we review changes in extreme sea levels and waves in the recent past. Then we discuss changes in the atmospheric storm events that drive,extreme sea - level changes. There follows a review of recent advances in the modeling of future extreme events. (The reader is referred to the list of abbreviations and acronyms at the front of the book for models mentioned in the text.) The European shelf, Bay of Bengal and Australian regions have been investigated in greater detail than most other areas, and are selected for this section as special case studies of future change. Finally, we highlight issues that we believe need to be addressed in order to further understand the changes of the past and better predict those of the future.