Communities of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coastline will be affected by rising sea levels sooner than other areas, according to a report issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Coastal waters from New York to North Carolina have risen at a higher rate than average global increase–2.4 to 4.4 millimeters a year, compared with an average global increase of 1.7 millimeters a year, according to "Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region."
The report states that sea levels along the East Coast rose about one foot over the past century.
The EPA said the mid-Atlantic region "will likely see the greatest impacts due to rising waters, coastal storms, and a high concentration of population along the coastline."
The report examines multiple opportunities for governments and coastal communities to plan for and adapt to rising sea levels.
Sea-level rise can affect coastal communities and habitats in a variety of different ways, including submerging low-lying lands, eroding beaches, converting wetlands to open water, intensifying coastal flooding, and increasing the salinity of estuaries and freshwater aquifers. It is caused by a number of natural and human-induced factors and can vary by region. Some impacts of sea-level rise can already be observed along the U.S. coast.
The primary causes of global sea-level rise are the expansion of ocean water due to warming and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets. Locally, sea-level rise is also influenced by changes to the geology of coastal land, making coastal elevation mapping an important area of future study.
EPA led the development of the report with significant contributions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The report is one of 21 climate change synthesis and assessment products commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP).
Go to the link below for more information on the report.
Loading...