New study reveals which areas are most at risk from sea level rise. Over the past century, humans have dumped around 136 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That excess CO2 has been trapping heat, leading to global warming and a rise in sea levels worldwide—a phenomenon that’s expected to only get worse over time as the oceans continue to warm and ice sheets melt. And now scientists have figured out which parts of the country will be underwater by 2050 if we don’t act soon. It’s not pretty news.
What Is Sea Level Rise?
Sea level rise is not a new phenomenon, but it’s getting worse as global temperatures go up and ice sheets melt, leading to flooding and loss of coastal landmass. And while much attention has been paid to how quickly global sea levels have risen over time—as well as what’s predicted for future melting—far less focus has gone into understanding where rising seas will have an impact in a more localized way, especially for particular cities and regions around the world. A team of researchers from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Stony Brook University in New York decided to address that knowledge gap with a new study published Monday in Environmental Research Letters. They looked at projected sea level rise through 2050 across hundreds of coastal locations worldwide based on six different climate models, then used those estimates to determine which areas could see floods on par with Superstorm Sandy within 35 years. The findings point to major coastal hubs like New York City; Miami; Boston; Seattle; San Francisco; Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam as being among some of the cities most vulnerable to inundation. The U.S. East Coast was found to be particularly vulnerable overall: By far, U.S. cities accounted for 12 of the top 20 spots on their list, including New York City; Atlantic City, N.J.; Washington D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; and Philadelphia.
Where Is The Water Coming From
Sea-level rise, defined as an increase in global sea levels over time, is caused by two factors: water expanding due to warming and increased melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice caps, on Earth. Sea levels can also fluctuate over shorter periods of time based on ocean currents, salinity and climate patterns like El Niño. Water expands as it warms, contributing to rising sea levels; for example, a one degree Celsius (1°C) temperature increase would cause approximately a 10 cm (4 inch) rise in global sea levels. Melting land-based ice contributes more than 80 percent of all observed sea level rise around the world. The Greenland Ice Sheet, which is located mostly within Greenland but spills into Canada, has been losing mass since 2002. In 2014 alone, Greenland lost 286 billion tons of ice—enough to cover an area nearly three times larger than Manhattan in water almost 2 miles deep. Antarctica’s massive ice sheet holds enough frozen water to raise global sea levels by more than 200 feet if it were all to melt.
How Will This Affect Us?
Sea levels around the globe are rising – and we’re causing it. In fact, over 80 percent of coastal communities will experience a significant impact as a result of rising sea levels in just two decades, according to new research published Monday in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. This could mean that some coastal regions could soon become uninhabitable for humans and even threaten our national security. It is becoming clearer that many millions of people will have to move because they live on land that is going to be submerged, said study co-author Ben Strauss, vice president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central. We’re talking about something like 200 million people. It’s an issue that gets worse every year, but we’ve been pretty slow to act. If you look back 40 years ago when scientists first started warning us about global warming and sea level rise, I think there was a feeling then that if we took action now it wouldn’t be too bad. Well, now we know better. It’s not too bad yet but it’s getting worse every year. The longer you wait to do anything about it, the more expensive or difficult any action becomes.
How We Can Adapt
Climate change is a phenomenon that has occurred throughout Earth’s history, but never as quickly as it is today. Due to human activities, global temperatures have increased steadily over time, and now threaten to become disastrously elevated within just 100 years if we fail to take action on a global scale. According to new research published in Nature Climate Change, cities around low-lying coastlines like San Francisco and New York City may be forced to deal with issues like massive flooding by as soon as 2050—just 35 years away. This means it’s more important than ever for communities to develop plans for how they will adapt and prepare for these changes. The future of our planet depends on it! Read on to find out what you can do right now.
What You Can Do
While political leaders continue to argue whether climate change is real, there’s no denying that rising global temperatures and melting glaciers will cause ocean levels to swell in coming years. A new study published Thursday in Nature Climate Change has mapped out exactly how much water will flow into cities around the world if current trends continue over just a few decades (before 2100), including how high above today’s sea level each area could become. The research shows that nearly 5 million people living in U.S. coastal cities like Miami, New Orleans and Tampa Bay would face lock-in inundation—meaning they won’t be able to escape flooding even if they move—by 2050. In total, about 13 million Americans could face some degree of lock-in inundation within 35 years if nothing is done to curb emissions. That number will jump to more than 18 million by century’s end. But it’s not all bad news: If we can really tackle carbon pollution and get our emissions down then we can avoid these worst-case scenarios, says lead author Ben Strauss, vice president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central.
