This is according to NOAA.
CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock reports that a calm day on the beach is the perfect time to take a stroll in the sand and enjoy the company of your best friend. This is quite a contrast to the times when hurricanes batter the shores or Nor’easters rage along the coast. The waves pummel the coastline, flooding floods streets and storm surge smothers homes and boardwalks.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, these events will only get worse.
Murdock spoke to William Sweet, a scientist.
Sweet stated that “Flood frequencies will increase and they’ll be more problematic.”
The numbers are in: Over the next 30 year, sea level will rise by an average of 10-12 inches along the U.S. coast. This is the same amount as the rise in sea level over the past 100 years. There will be an increase of 4-8 inches along the Pacific Coast and 14-18 inches along the Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Coast is expected to see an increase of 10-14 inches.
Sweet stated that “with this extra foot of sea level, what is now minor nuisance flooding at high tide is going to become more severe flooding which causes property damage and infrastructure destruction.”
Sweet floods four feet deep, which can threaten lives and is expected to happen every other year.
Sweet stated that “we have high confidence in the likelihood of sea level rising by a foot in New York City and Atlantic shore over the next thirty years.”
Global warming and melting glaciers have a significant impact on sea level. New Jersey is not the only place where this problem exists. The problem is compounded by the fact that the land is sinking.
Jennifer Walker, a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, stated that New Jersey is currently sinking because of the effects of the ice sheet from our last ice age. “The ice sheets no longer exist, but the land’s readjusting is taking place.”
Walker believes that the sea level rise in New Jersey at the end of 21st Century depends on human behavior.
Walker stated that a scenario of high emissions and strong continued growth in fossil fuel consumption would lead to a sea level rise of between 2.3′-6.3′.
Low emissions mean less rise
Walker stated that the more we do now, and the sooner it is done, the less sea-level rise we’ll need to adapt to.
We’ll be able to enjoy our coasts as they are today for longer.
NOAA hopes that the report will inform Americans about the future over the next 30 years so they can make preparations now.
