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Climate Change and Sea Level |
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Causes of Sea Level Rise
Sea level rise is one of the most serious consequences of global climate change, with the potential of causing: damage to coastal areas and islands, shoreline erosion, and destruction of important ecosystems such as wetlands. Sea level rise already underway and is expected to accelerate due to a thermal expansion of upper layers of the ocean and melting of glaciers. (Source: Climate Institute).
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) released in November 2004 identified a rapid warming underway in the Arctic and pointed out that it might have grave implications for coastal areas in populous industrial countries. The Synthesis Report of ACIA (see p.6) shows the effects of a one-meter rise in sea level on Florida. A study published in a recent issue of Science indicated that over the past five years the movement of glaciers in Southern Greenland to the ocean has doubled to an annual rate of about eight miles. Another study published March 3, 2007 in Science indicated that Antarctica is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice each year.
Sea Level Rise Impact on the USA
Shorelines have been retreating in much of the US for well over a century; scientists have mapped this change in areas such as Long Island and Delaware. In areas with gradually sloping coasts such as the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, shore lines are likely to recede as much as 200 times the amount of the sea level rise. A one-foot rise in sea level might well translate to a 200-foot retreat of shoreline (with loss of several rows of homes!).
A recent joint Heinz Center and FEMA study projected large-scale losses in these regions just from current trends including disappearance of several rows of coastal homes in some US coastal communities. Another study conservatively predicts that if nothing is done to curb global emissions, gloal average sea level will rise one to two feet. (Source: Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment, "Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast", 2007).
International Impact of Sea Level Rise
Some developing countries are especially vulnerable to sea level rise due to their low-lying territory and limited financial resources to respond. Among the most vulnerable are countries with large populations in deltaic coastal regions such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and Egypt.
Two populous island nations, the Philippines and Indonesia, have millions of citizens who face displacement from their homes from sea level rise. Several small island state nations including the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu in the Pacific could face extinction within this century if rates of sea level rise accelerate. Most of their populations live very close to sea level and a rise of as little as a three feet could prove devastating. Even before their lands become uninhabitable due to inundation or sea water, some could face total loss of their fresh water supply due to salt-water intrusion.
In the Caribbean, many small island nations are periodically ravaged by hurricanes that sometimes wipe out development gains of a decade. Although sea level rise may pose a serious threat to some Caribbean nations, perhaps the greatest challenge associated with climate change for these islands may be an increased incidence of super hurricanes such as Hurricane Gilbert that wreaked such havoc in 1988 or Hurricane Mitch in 1998 whose severe rains resulted in deaths of thousands, largely in Central America. ............................................................................................................. |
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The Artic Climate Impact Assessemnt (ACIA) |
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| Find out what impact the rapid warming in the Artic could have on coastal areas around the world? Read the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment >> |
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IPCC Special Report on Regional Impacts of Climate Change |
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| The report consists of vulnerability assessments for 10 regions that comprise the Earth's entire land surface and adjoining coastal seas. Several organizations provide information about climate observations and projections, vegetation distribution projections, and socioeconomic trends. IPCC Assessment, 2007 >> |
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Small Island Developing States (SIDS) |
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| The impact of global climate change is most threatening to small island developing states whose economies and populations are the most vulnerable to a rise in sea level. Faced with sea level rise of up to one meter by the end of the next century and the need to relocate entire populations within the next 50 years, representatives of 30 small island developing States (SIDS) met in St. Lucia to discuss how their populations can be better educated about the effects of climate change. Learn more about Small Island Developing States >> |
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