Rising Sea Level In Florida

The state of Florida is the region most susceptible to the effects of global warming in this country, according to scientists. Sea-level rise alone threatens thirty percent of the state’s beaches over the next 85 years. Climate change and global warming refer to the body of scientific evidence showing that the earth’s environment is warming due to human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. It is accepted science all over the world. Climate change in Florida has many effects such as the increase of our sea level and global warming this issue will cause a dramatic change in 2050.

To begin, because of the change in water supply the wildlife is losing resources, causing them to die. Without the proper water and land mass wildlife needs, most won’t survive. According to, “The Florida Everglades” it states, “As a result, the quantity and diversity of the wetlands’ wildlife decreased and 50% of the original wetlands on South Florida

Over the past several million years sea level has fluctuated considerably higher and lower than present levels. With these fluctuations the shoreline has shifted inland and further out, onto the continental shelf, than the present shorelines. The Northern Gulf of Mexico has followed the general path of global sea level during recent geologic time including the time since the last glacial maximum. During the last glacial maximum, 20,000 years ago, the sea level dropped approximately 100m below the present level and the shoreline extended 100km onto the shelf in some locations (Donoghue, 2011). Since the last glacial maximum the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico has seen a rise in sea level at a rate exceeding those seen at any other time. The rate of overall sea level rise since the last glacial maximum is 6mm a year with some periods of rise in excess of 40mm a year. The rate has slowed and stabilized over the last 6,000 years and this has allowed ecosystems and

The Everglades mainly found in the United States of America (USA) is a 2 million acre of wetland ecosystem that stretches from the Central of Florida near to Orlando to the Bay of Florida in the south. During rainy seasons, Lake Okeechobee experience upsurge in water volumes causing it to discharge the waters into the “river of grass” that characterize with shallow slow moving water carrying grass marshes. The river flows south and passing through different habitats namely wet prairie, cypress swamps, mangroves, Everglades National Park and lastly into the Florida Bay. The current size of the Everglades is smaller than it was originally. The decrease in size has majorly been due to human activities that include diversions of the water for agriculture and flood control as well as urban development. The Everglades borders the cities of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. The region is tourist attraction for birders, boaters, and anglers among others. The Everglades ecosystem supports agricultural activities besides supplying clean drinking water to the southern Florida residents. Just like other natural ecosystems like lakes and forests, the Everglades is facing dangers of global warming. The increasing global temperatures are causing a significant change and destruction of its iconic natural appearance. Besides the direct effects, global warming is

The Everglades Restoration Plan is the policy to increase the flow of clean water to the Everglades, in an effort to protect the environment, provide for recreational activities, and supply South Florida with a clean supply of potable water. At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States. The Federal Government approved Florida’s landmark water quality project that, once constructed, all parties agree will provide the clean water the Everglades need (Scott, 2013). The Everglades restoration has been hampered by decades of futile bickering over how to decide the most rational approach to restoring the flow of water to the Everglades.

Look around, what is seen wasn’t always there but it did just come out of nowhere. In Florida when driving at some point wild life and what's left of the Everglade that has not been changed or destroyed. There is a reason for the everglades being protected now after almost being completely ruined compared now to what it used to be. In the world there is only one of every ecosystem which makes each and every special in there own way and if one is no longer there is it a problem if fact it is; anything that depend on have internal systems working together to result in a balance need all of is parts. It is a fact that the Florida Everglades is a essential to the to wild life and many system on Earth as a whole.

The Everglades hydrologic system has changed greatly from historic times to the present day. Part of this is due to natural changes, while other parts have been affected directly by humans. Most of Florida’s climate, specifically the Everglades, is humid and rainy. Because of Florida’s precipitation, flood control structures have been put into place around Lake Okeechobee. The later release of this water has also impacted the environment surrounding Lake Okeechobee.

I researched the Everglades in Florida. There have been many negative changes in this habitat both from humans and other species. The region’s water resources are being depleted by invasions of exotic plants such as the Australian Melaluca. The Australian Melaluca also affected the native species of which the rest of the ecosystem depends. Another effect on the water is the runoff from agricultural operations, which gets into the water and pollutes it. Development pressures from agriculture, industry, and urban areas have destroyed more than half of the original Everglades

The beautiful and always sunny state of Florida may not be known as the “beautiful” state anymore. With the effects of climate change headed straight their way, the state might be completely taken away by the seas. Although there are many factors contributing to climate

Miami, Florida experiences a great amount of natural disasters; however, one of the largest disasters Miami fears is affects of global change. Rising global temperatures scares most environmentalist in the Miami area, because rising temperatures results in rising sea levels. So, what is the problem with rising sea levels? Well, environmental specialist has made predictions that the rising sea levels could submerge the beaches of Miami.

The rise of sea levels are projected to increase warmer waters from one and a half to two degrees in Central North Pacific in 2050, 1.9 to 2.6 degrees in Northern Islands, and also two to five degrees in the Caribbean at the end of this century. This rise of temperature decreases the life of ecosystems in the ocean and resulting in less freshwater for

Location of major natural system: In Florida, these are primarily located continuously along the Atlantic coast from the state line- south to Cape Florida, Miami-Dade County, and on the Gulf coast of the peninsula from Anclote Key, Pasco County, south to Cape Romano, and Collier County (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, n.d.a.). Furthermore, in regard to counties where beaches are discontinuous, we are able to see two additional sites in the Florida Keys, four sites on the islands west of Key West, a site in Cape Sable, and even a few on the larger islands of the Ten Thousand Islands (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, n.d.a.). Lastly, outside of Florida, these dunes are known to extend to the Alabama border, and even as far as around the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, Bahamas, and along the Atlantic coast all the way to Virginia (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, n.d.a.).

The rich habitats of the Gulf of Mexico help make it one of the most ecologically and economically productive bodies of the water in the work. The meeting of land and sea along more than 16,000 miles of coastline from Texas to Florida creates a wealth of ecosystems (National Geographic Society, 2010). The dynamic mixing of saltwater and freshwater and the daily infusions of sediments from rivers nourish areas that provide habitat for wildlife and protection from pollution and storms (National Geographic Society, 2010).

The combination of these and other trends was an estimated average sea-level increase of 1.5mm per year between 1961 and 2003, which reached 2.4mm per year in the decade from 1993 to 2003. The decades prior to this trend showed only minor fluctuations in sea-level, suggesting that the current rate exceeds what could be caused by natural cycles. While the exact impact of rising oceans is difficult to determine, it is certain that the consequences will include some degree of flooding, integration of salt water into water tables, and a loss of land due to coastal erosion and submersion.6

Global warming is a major problem when providing a suitable habitat and lifestyle for ample marine life. With sea levels rising there are consequences to plant life in coastal wetlands that can not handle the amount of water being provided. The wetlands are important in their job to protect the species they contain and for stabilizing coastlines. Storms are increasing in magnitude and severity, causing the transport of nutrients to marine life to be disturbed. As shores move further inland animals will have to move and adapt, history has shown how this can decrease populations. In the future both rare and abundant species could become locally extinct, with rare species on the verge of becoming totally extinct.