Coastal Resilience Today, sea levels are rising from the effects of global warming. There are two main causes of the rise of sea levels are thermal expansion and the increase of the melting of land-based ice (US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2008). Humans burning coal and oil and cutting down tropical forests can have increased atmospheric concentrations. Causing the earth’s temperature to rise, glaciers and ice sheets to melt, thermal expansion to appear, and sea levels to rise (Causes of Sea Level Rise: What the Science Tells Us, 2013). Due to rising sea levels, 13.1 million Americans must be displaced from their homes along the coast. Since 1880, the planet has warmed by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit
Al Gore anticipated Sea levels rising and the Sea levels have been ascending for as far back as century and the pace has just expanded in the previous decade as ice sheets liquefy speedier and water temperatures increment, causing seas to extend. Ocean level changes from 1993– 2006 where, from June 2006 to January 2016, ocean levels expanded around 41.24 millimeters (1.62 inches). From 33.54 millimeters to 74.48 millimeters in a decade and just running up with the greater
As it stands today the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico is losing more and more land; the amount of land lost each year may seem relatively small to the average person, but to scientists who understand the unprecedented rate at which this is happening, there is reason to be alarmed. On the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico there are more reasons for the rising sea level than simply global warming and melting ice sheets or ice caps. In the Mississippi delta, for example, the oil industry is taking so much fluid (oil) out of the ground that the land is sinking and compacting further. There is also a decrease in the amount of sediment reaching the delta due to many man-made structures, such as levees, drudging, dikes, and
People living in Miami are in the face of danger, and for the most part they are not aware of it. Due to high population, Miami is the fourth largest city to become affected by sea level rise. (Ankum et al.) In the next 32-50 years, sea level is expected to rise by as much as two feet. (Ankum et al.) This two-foot rise will have detrimental effects on the urban settings of Miami. The amount of soil erosion that is undergoing at our beaches will greatly increase if a two-foot rise occurs. At a four-foot rise, road connectivity would begin to become affected. At a six-foot rise, Southern Florida would no longer be habitable as it would, for the most part, be underwater. Not much is being invested in mitigation efforts, most of what is being done are short term solutions. Instead of coming up with ideas to prevent and try to slow down the effects of climate change on our environment, we are focusing on ideas such as building up a sea wall, relocating power plants, and redesigning structures.
The Unites States of America is currently working to combat climate change in order to protect people from its effects. By combatting climate change, the USA hopes to prevent its effects from becoming worse in the future because the USA cares for its citizens and doesn’t want them to keep experiencing the consequences of climate change. The USA is putting great effort into dealing with climate change and also hopes that other businesses, organization, and individuals will join them in their effort (Environmental News Service). One concern the USA has towards climate change is its cause of natural disasters. Climate change is bringing more natural disasters by making weather patterns stronger, and weather patterns are becoming stronger as climate change grows which is bringing more natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and drought to the USA (Rice). One example of a natural disaster that occurred in the USA as a result of climate change is the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. In this event, a tornado rated 5 on the Enhanced Fuijta scale hit Oklahoma and had a negative impact on this city by destroying many of its houses and buildings also resulting in the destruction of businesses such as schools (Cable News Network). Another major concern of the USA towards climate change is that it will cause a rise in the global sea level which will result in many of its coastal cities to be submerged underwater. There will be a permanent 4 feet rise in the global sea level
“‘We know even relatively small amounts of sea level rise affect us,’ [Carl Spector, commissioner of Boston’s Environment Department] said. ‘All the models we’re seeing are concerning’” (Abel). Climate change, the warming and changing of the Earth’s atmosphere, has become a very prevalent issue over the past century. Despite having numerous sources in terms of hard evidence, many people still do not believe in the effects of climate change. Sea level rise is one effect of climate change that may change the minds of many because of its reality in today’s world. This issue is especially relevant in the Northeast because of several factors that further affect the sea level rise. In order to stop further effects on the Northeast, legislators must
The Sea Level has increased over the past 200 years as average global temperatures have increased. The rise is due to two factors, the freshwater being added to the oceans from ice melt in the cryosphere, and the thermal expansion of the oceans due to rises in sea temperature. The sea level has risen 6 to 8 inches in the past 100 years. It is predicted to rise another 50 to 90 centimeters in the next century. As the sea level rises it’s jeopardizing rapidly growing coastal communities, which causes evacuation in some areas causing people to lose their homes. Sea level is the effect
he issue of coastal resilience and sea level rise are issues of dire importance in the Tidewater area of Virginia. Recent events in the Gulf Coast area, which were devastated by Hurricane Harvey, prove the importance of these pressing issues in the coming years. Because of the Tidewater region’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, it the one of the most susceptible areas threatened by recent sea level rise, with most of the region lying less than fifteen feet above sea level(Weeks 2012). “…Low-lying neighborhoods flood regularly when heavy rains combine with high tides, swamping storm-water systems.” This regular flooding coupled with rise in sea level can and will become an issue if not seriously addressed by the local, state, and federal
Why should we care is a question that many people end up asking. Earth’s average temperature has increased by at least 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century and scientists expect it to go up to about 12 degrees Fahrenheit in the next. To us, those numbers seem quite small, but the average temperature a couple centuries ago was 4 degrees lower than it is today, allowing ice caps to stay ice caps. As the temperature increases, ice caps start to melt resulting in the rising of sea levels. With the sea rising, storms are becoming more and more frequent and stronger. High sea levels also cause torrential rains and flooding which threatens us as humans, wildlife and nature.
Decades of research suggest that sea-levels are rising, and will continue to rise as a result of climate change. This rise will have the most immediate and significant impact on
The rise of sea level and global warming has become a much more serious problem right now. This problem has drawn international attention, because higher sea levels in the future would cause great damages not only in coastal area, but also in various parts of the world.We have already seen thousands of people call and lead people to protect our environment and eliminate the emission of greenhouse gases. We could lose our planet as well based on what we did. We really have to take action to prevent the dangerous outcomes happen in the future, otherwise the more people’s life would be inflected and
The definition of coastal resilience is when a community builds a plan to be able to “bounce back” after hazardous events such as flooding, hurricanes, and coastal storms. Resilience is the ability to prevent short-term events from turning into long-term community disasters. In the Hampton roads area we have experienced recurring coastal flooding, in 2013 the government said they were joining as leaders to address these issues, but yet we still are not prepared to handle these hazardous events. There was a debate that was trying to figure out if these climate changes are manmade, I personally do not think that they are, I believe that the world is changing everyday and considering that we are surrounded by water, our circumstances are inevitable.
Coastal Resilience is the act of building the ability of a community to bounce back and rebuild itself after hazardous events such as hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. A community more informed and prepared will have a greater opportunity to rebound quickly from weather and climate-related events, including adapting to sea level rise. According to the City of Norfolk website, Norfolk is coming up with a plan called the Norfolk Flooding Strategy which is an integrative process of planning, mitigating, and communicating to reduce flood dangers. Norfolk is extremely susceptible to flooding because the tidewater area is extremely below sea level. Scientists project that within the next 80 years , the sea level in Norfolk will rise another
Historically, misconceptions about coastal and other aquatic adaptations are persistent in archaeology due to: (1) long-standing ideas that aquatic resources are marginal foods, (2) unclear definitions of what constitutes aquatic versus terrestrial resources, (3) changing sea levels, erosion, and the destruction of coastal archaeological sites, (4) differential preservation, recovery, and reporting of aquatic remains, and (5) holdovers from the “Man the Hunter” paradigm, which tend to overemphasize terrestrial hunting activities (Erlandson 2001). Consequently, coastal and other aquatic adaptations are poorly documented worldwide; the economic output of aquatic environments, and the nature of societies inhabiting them, continues to be debated
Many of these people are in developing countries that are ill equipped to deal with the problem (monaghan). When the water levels rise, all of these people will be forced to relocate as their whole cities, towns, and homes go underwater due to climate change in Antarctica. In places like Florida, Bangladesh, and other low-lying areas, even modest increases in sea levels—the kind possible before the beginning of the next century—would have dire, civilization-changing consequences (monaghan). According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), sea levels have been rising about three millimeters per year since 1993 – totaling a 200 millimeter increase (7.87 inches) in global averaged sea level since 1870. This is a threat to many lives all over the world and is fast approaching us. Glaciers also contain billions of gallons of freshwater, meaning a rapid melt could mess with the salinity of the ocean. Since our salty ocean absorbs much of the carbon dioxide we pump into the air, that’s not the best scenario for global warming (Atkin). Global warming will continue to get worse if we do not change our ways now.
Coastal marine ecosystems are a very important part of the coastal economy as well as the natural ecology. Not only do coastal systems provide socioeconomic benefits such as tourism and aesthetics, but also several ecosystem services. The ecosystem services provided by coast environments include coastal erosion, storm protection, recreational or commercial fishing, carbon sequestration and filtration (Wingard and Lorenz, 2014). Unfortunately, these services have been impacted by pressures such as altered flow of freshwater runoff, sea level rise (which in turn also increases the frequency and intensity of storms) and man-made channels (Wingard and Lorenz, 2014). Another major factor that has impacted and deteriorated many coastal areas is urbanization