From 415c9db41f3451f0ece98d468a295919397e7052 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nate B <43703496+NB419@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 28 May 2020 20:57:13 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Create sea_level_rise.md --- climate_change/sea_level_rise.md | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+) create mode 100644 climate_change/sea_level_rise.md diff --git a/climate_change/sea_level_rise.md b/climate_change/sea_level_rise.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..174a4c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/climate_change/sea_level_rise.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +**Climate change causes floods, natural disasters, and puts homes underwater** + + + +* [National Ocean Service](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevelclimate.html) + * Why Climate change effects sea levels + * oceans warm due to an increasing global temperature, causing seawater to expand and take up more space in the ocean basin and causing a rise in water level. + * melting of ice over land, which adds water to the ocean. +* [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Lindsey 18](https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level) + * _“The rising water level is mostly due to a combination of **meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets** and **thermal expansion** of seawater as it warms.”_ + * Scope: In the United States, almost **40 percent of the population **lives in relatively high population-density** coastal areas**, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. + * Globally, **8 of the world’s 10 largest cities** are **near a coast**, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans. + * Sea levels have been **continuously rising** and put these areas under threat: + + +![](https://github.com/NB419/source-library/blob/master/images/climate-sea%20level.png?raw=true) + + + +* [Climate Central Executive Report: Strauss et al. 12](http://slr.s3.amazonaws.com/SurgingSeas.pdf) + * Climate change sea level impact + * raised sea level about **eight inches** since 1880 + * the rate of rise is accelerating + * Scientists expect **20 to 80 more inches** this century, a lot depending upon how much more heat-trapping pollution humanity puts into the sky + * This study makes mid-range projections of **1 to 8 inches** by 2030, and **4 to 19 inches** by 2050, depending upon location across the contiguous 48 states. + * Climate change flooding impact + * Rising seas **dramatically increase the odds of damaging floods** from storm surges. + * For more than two-thirds of the locations analyzed (and for 85% of sites outside the Gulf of Mexico), past and future global warming more than **doubles t**he estimated odds of “century” or worse floods occurring within the next **18 years** + * Impact on homes + * At three quarters of the 55 sites analyzed, century levels are higher than 4 feet above the high tide line. + * Across the country nearly 5 million people live in 2.6 million homes at less than 4 feet above high tide. + * In 285 cities and towns, more than half the population lives on land below this line, potential victims of increasingly likely climate-induced coastal flooding. + * 3.7 million live less than 1 meter above the tide. + * About half of this exposed population, and eight of the top 10 cities, are in the state of Florida. About $30 billion in taxable property is vulnerable below the three-foot line in just three counties in southeast Florida.