Sea Level Rise
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There will always be beaches, but sea level rise will ensure that they will not be in the same place in the future. The beaches will still exist throughout this change, but many of the buildings may not. Efforts to save development, however do threaten beaches, such as shoreline armoring structures.
Although relative amounts of rise may seem very small, only a few millimeters per year, the cumulative effect of these small rises each year over a long period of time (100+ years) causes major problems. Accelerated rates of erosion are attributed to sea level rise and erosion causes large economic losses around the world each year due to the close proximity of buildings and critical infrastructure. This includes transportation systems, gas and oil lines as well as electricity lines and power plants.
Most developed coasts and beaches have buildings very close to the ocean leaving little room for the ever-expanding ocean. The future effects of sea level rise on coastal civilization over the entire world are of great concern. Over half of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coast. Over the next 50 years, damage due to coastal development will be devastating, but if the rate of sea level rise increases, the results could be catastrophic. This issue threatens areas from New York City in the United States to the Pearl River Delta in China to the Maldives.
The world map below allows you to see elevations of coastal areas. Areas in red are the lowest in elevation and are most prone to flooding. Check out Manhattan in New York City. If you think the situation there looks dire, be sure to check out the effects of a 2 m rise in sea level on Pearl River Delta in China, home to more than 40 million people. Map courtesy of globalwarmingart.com
Surfing in / Sea Level Rise
The only answer to rising seas is to retreat; By Orrin H. Pilkey & Keith C. Pilkey
Except for the timing, there is no controversy among scientists regarding sea level rise. Defending the coast and holding the shoreline in place ultimately will be futile. With a three-foot or a six-foot sea level rise, we will retreat, probably beginning within the next 50 years.
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Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says
Coastal cities around the world could be devastated by 1.3m of sea level rise this century unless coal-generated electricity is virtually eliminated by 2050, according to a University of Melbourne new paper that combines the latest understanding of Antarctica’s contribution to sea level rise and the latest emissions projection scenarios.
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Rising seas threaten nearly $1 trillion worth of US homes, and most of them are moderately priced
If sea levels were to rise 6 feet, 1.9 million homes, or $916 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate, could be lost, according to a new report.
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Drones used to map climate change in Zanzibar
In Zanzibar, which is a series of islands off the east coast of Africa, a group is using drones to map the effects of rising sea levels and global temperatures in an effort to combat local climate change.
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Did rapid sea-level rise drown fossil coral reefs around Hawaii?
Investigations to predict changes in sea levels and their impacts on coastal systems are a step closer, as a result of a new international collaboration.
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Warm waters tripled the amount of ice lost in these Antarctic glaciers — and that’s bad for sea level rise
Another glacier in Western Antarctica has been cracking from the inside out, producing another massive iceberg — four and a half times the size of Manhattan — this week.
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Despite Rising Seas and Bigger Storms, Florida’s Land Rush Endures
Florida was built on the seductive delusion that a swamp is a fine place for paradise.
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NASA/UCI Find Evidence of Sea Level ‘Fingerprints’
Researchers have reported the first detection of sea level “fingerprints” in ocean observations: detectable patterns of sea level variability around the world resulting from changes in water storage on Earth’s continents and in the mass of ice sheets. Scientists had a solid understanding of the physics of sea level fingerprints, but have never had a direct detection of the phenomenon until now.
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East Coast of the USA is slowly sinking into the sea, study shows
The East Coast of the United States is threatened by more frequent flooding in the future. According to this study, the states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are most at risk. Their coastal regions are being immersed by up to three millimeters per year , mong other things, due to human intervention.
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