Areas that would be under water should a sea-level rise of four meters occur.
Image credit: Weiss and Overpeck, The University of Arizona.
As I have blogged in the past, one of the most sensitive regions to sea level change is Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Navy has replaced its waterfront at Norfolk with a double decker pier, the top deck originally 21 feet above water level.
Global Climate Change Briefing at William and Mary tells that 125,000 years ago, sea levels were 12 to 18 feet higher than today. Scientists don't know how long the glaciers will last, but the thermal expansion of water alone will result in a one to two foot sea level rise by the end of the century.
Sea Levels Rising Fast on U.S. East Coast tells that region is rising three to four times faster than the rest of the world. Wind and ocean currents cause the ocean's water to pile up in some areas more than others. The trade winds push the Pacific water so that the sea level at Ecuador is one-half meter lower than Indonesia. So that explains why some regions are experiencing greater sea level changes.
Sea Level Rise Accelerating in U.S. Atlantic Coast explains that USGS researchers studied sea level changes from 1990 and discovered that sea levels in the 600 mile stretch from Cap Hatteras, NC, to Boston, MA, have increased 2 - 3.7 mm per year. USGS warns that cities like Norfolk, New York, and Boston will suffer increasingly greater flooding as the waters continue to rise.
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