It’s not good news for 14 million Americans living on the southeast Atlantic coast. In a new study published in Nature Climate Change—led by Patrick Barnard from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California—a team of experts wrote that the area running from Norfolk, Virginia, to Miami faces plenty more risks than simple coastal flooding as a result of several interconnected climate change-driven factors.
Basically, water is going up, land is going down, weather is going wild, and none of it is good news.
“The risk of flooding, compounded by sinking land and beach loss, could displace millions and damage critical infrastructure unless robust adaptation strategies are implemented,” Manoochehr Shirzaei, geoscientist at Virginia Tech University and an author on the study, said in a statement.
Assuming a conservative 3.2 feet of sea level rise by 2100—according to data from the United Nations published earlier this year, the current rate of sea level rise indicates that we should expect to see that figure at a minimum—the study authors wrote that more than 70 percent of residents in the southeast Atlantic coast of the United States will experience shallow and emerging groundwater, a danger 15 times greater than daily flooding from surface water. With groundwater potentially affecting more than 70 percent of coastal residents and innundating $1 trillion worth of property, it will create difficulty throughout municipalities, making the maintenance of everything from roads and building stability and septic systems and utilities significantly more difficult.
Coastal storms and hurricanes only increase the flooding exposure, but that alone could could impact roughly 50 percent of all coastal residents. And that surface water flooding could cause the loss of roughly 80 percent of present-day beaches. Additionally, a high rate of sinking could impact “over one million residents,” which will only get exacerbated by flooding and groundwater hazards.
“Previous studies have focused on flooding but rarely on other climate-related coastal hazards,” according to the study authors. That includes sinking, beach erosion, and groundwater levels.
Land sinking may not be the first thought that comes up when thinking about the impacts of climate change, but its a serious concern. According to data from NASA, many parts of the southeast Atlantic coast are sinking between 1 and 2 millimeters per year as part of a major glacial isostatic adjustment occurring deep underground. Compounding upon changes in land levels—especially in coastal areas of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina—are dams blocking sediment that would have otherwise replenished coastal lands. Without that sediment, soils compact. And sink.
“Subsidence is a pernicious, highly localized, and often overlooked problem in comparison to global sea level rise,” Leonard Ohenhen, a geophysicist at Virginia Tech, said in a statement, “but it’s a major factor that explains why water levels are rising in many parts of the eastern U.S.”
The Nature study used geospatial data and a variety of modeling tools, including the Coastal Storm Modeling System, to project potential coastal hazard impacts, highlighting the risks associated with a range of interconnected conditions.
“We need to rethink how we plan and build for the future, especially in highly vulnerable coastal regions,” Shirzaei said. “By including a wider range of climate hazards in resilience strategies, we can better protect our communities from the compounded effects of sea level rise and extreme weather.”
[ + ] Anus_Expander
[ - ] Anus_Expander 2 points 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 17:05:08 ago (+2/-0)
[ + ] RobertJHarsh
[ - ] RobertJHarsh 2 points 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 14:40:13 ago (+2/-0)
[ + ] ProudRebel
[ - ] ProudRebel 1 point 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 12:37:45 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] dosvydanya_freedomz
[ - ] dosvydanya_freedomz [op] 0 points 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 12:48:05 ago (+0/-0)
then i started to lose my hair and started to shave it all. i wasnt completely bald mind you but the little hair that i had left made look worse i think than go full shaved
[ + ] RobertJHarsh
[ - ] RobertJHarsh 1 point 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 14:39:49 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] MartinTimothy
[ - ] MartinTimothy 0 points 5 monthsDec 1, 2024 00:05:23 ago (+0/-0)*
[ + ] mikenigger
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[ + ] xmasskull
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[ + ] dosvydanya_freedomz
[ - ] dosvydanya_freedomz [op] 2 points 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 12:51:55 ago (+2/-0)
they are going to milk this narrative for all of its worth. its also a grift just like recycling was/is
[ + ] inaminit
[ - ] inaminit 0 points 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 11:55:35 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] dosvydanya_freedomz
[ - ] dosvydanya_freedomz [op] 1 point 5 monthsNov 30, 2024 12:44:06 ago (+1/-0)