Baby Boomers Concerned About Global Warming on the Rising Sea Level [VIDEO]
August 30th, 2011
[VIDEO] Measurements over the past 50 years have indicated that The Greenhouse Effect is warming the oceans and with that is the reality that the oceans are going to rise. The impact of rising oceans can have serious effects on land masses of the Earth.
Baby Boomers are Concerned About the Effects of Global Warming on the Rising Sea Level
Measurements over the past 50 years have indicated that The Greenhouse Effect is warming the oceans and with that is the reality that the oceans are going to rise.
The impact of rising oceans can have serious effects on land masses of the Earth.
Sea level is currently rising at a rate of 1/10 inch per year.
Projections by 2100 shows oceans rising as much as three feet.
So what happens when the oceans get warmer do to the Greenhouse Effect?
Water expands as it warms. Therefore, sea level will raise as the top few hundred feet of the oceans warm and swell. Meltwater from polar and mountain glaciers is another potential source of sea level rise.
Due to the CO2 already in the atmosphere, sea level is projected to continue rising if unchecked over the next centuries.
Projections for the year 2100 is showing oceans rising by as much as three feet. The impacts of rising sea level include loss of coastal ecosystems, flooding of cities, displacement of coastal inhabitants, and increased vulnerability to storm surges. And the effects would be magnified if the frequency of severe storms increases, as some climate models project.
Over the past century, approximately 70% of the world’s shorelines have been retreating due to sea level rise and increased erosion. Over the next century, increased erosion is likely as sea level rises. Erosion will increase along different types of unprotected shoreline, including the low-lying barrier dunes of the southern U.S. Atlantic Coast and the soft cliff coasts of California.
Thirteen of the world’s fifteen largest cities are on coastal plains. Many smaller cities, such as Alexandria, Egypt’s ancient center of learning, also face a severe risk of inundation with a 39-inch rise in sea level. Parts of San Jose and Long Beach, California, are about three feet below sea level and New Orleans is about eight feet below sea level today.
Cities at risk cover a wide range of economic circumstances, yet many will require extensive infrastructure development to minimize the potential impacts of flooding, particularly from storm surge.
The United States could lose 10,000 square miles of dry land if sea level rises two feet. But the impacts of rising sea level vary from one region to another. These maps identify areas along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Coasts that are vulnerable to a 5–10 feet rise in sea level. The U.S. Pacific Coast is far less vulnerable to coastal flooding because the land rises more abruptly from the sea.
Coastal wetlands are especially vulnerable because they are within a few feet of sea level. In the United States, a sea level rise of one foot could eliminate 17–43% of today’s wetlands, with more than half the loss in Louisiana.
As sea level rises, new wetlands will form further inland, but the total area will probably be reduced. In developed areas, dikes and other structures will prevent new wetlands from forming.
Sea Level Rise Animation in Google Earth
With the oceans of the world covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, Baby Boomers can easily visualize the potential impact that rising oceans will have on the Earth if progress Global Warming is not checked.
