Where Seas are Rising at Alarming Speed – the Washington Post

Southeastern United States, after winter rains brought sediments from rivers flowing to the East of the Rockies into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast (captured by the VIIRS instrument aboard the NOAA-20 satellite on December 18, 2023, courtesy of NASA/OB.DAAC).

One of the most rapid sea level surges on Earth is besieging the American South, forcing a reckoning for coastal communities across eight U.S. states…At more than a dozen tide gauges spanning from Texas to North Carolina, sea levels are at least 6 inches higher than they were in 2010 — a change similar to what occurred over the previous five decades…

Greenland’s ice shelves hold back sea level rise. There are just 5 left – the Washington Post

Ice accelerating as it flows towards the coast creates heavy crevassing near the coast of Melville Bay in west Greenland (by John Sonntag/NASA’s Operation IceBridge courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, public domain).

And now there are only five large shelves left, stretching out from their fjords toward the Greenland Sea and the Arctic Ocean. That includes three major ones — Petermann, Ryder and Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (often referred to as 79 North for its location in degrees latitude) — whose respective glaciers could ultimately account for 3.6 feet of sea level rise if they were to melt entirely — a process that would take centuries to play out…

Seas have drastically risen along southern U.S. coast in past decade – the Washington Post

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida looking south down the Atlantic coast (by Aron M. CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr).

Multiple new studies highlight a rate of sea level rise that is ‘unprecedented in at least 120 years’ along the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. coast.

Scientists have documented an abnormal and dramatic surge in sea levels along the U.S. gulf and southeastern coastlines since about 2010, raising new questions about whether New Orleans, Miami, Houston and other coastal communities might be even more at risk from rising seas than once predicted…

On the Edge of Retreat (multimedia feature) – the Washington Post

Hog Island Wildlife Management Area in Surry County, Virginia. 2018 (by Chesapeake Bay Program CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr).

A century ago, about 250 people lived on Hog Island, a seven-mile expanse off the Virginia coast. They raised livestock and gathered oysters. They lived in a town called Broadwater, worked at the lighthouse and Coast Guard station, and danced at night in a social hall called the Red Onion.

But that was back when there was still soil beneath their feet…