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I couldn't help but notice the scary picture of a lighthouse being savaged by the ocean in the article. I live at an elevation pretty close to sea level and I guess that is what i can expect?
A few questions about the article
1) What is nuisance flooding? By the 2050s, sea level rise is likely to cross a tipping point for 26 major U.S. cities, which can expect at least 30 days of “nuisance flooding” each year.
2) What does adjusts mean? "adjusts satellite readings taken from hundreds of miles above the Earth to measure small changes in sea level heights around the globe since the early 1990s."
3) Assuming this claim is correct. How much did they rise before? "Sea levels have risen by about a foot since 1900 and the rise is projected to continue accelerating into at least the next century."
4) Is a little over 8 inches about a foot? "Based on a small number (~25) of high-quality tide gauge records from stable land regions, the rate of sea level rise has been estimated as 1.8 mm yr–1 for the past 70 years (Douglas, 2001; Peltier, 2001), and Miller and Douglas (2004) find a range of 1.5 to 2.0 mm yr–1 for the 20th century from 9 stable tide gauge sites." 1.8 mm times 100 years= 180mm = 7.08661 inches.
I don't neccesarily buy those figures either but they could be right.
Only answering #1
This is St Augustine but could be any other city, it's a good thing they didn't get hit directly by Sandy because it would have been a disaster.
Frequent flooding has become a way of life in many of these cities.
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St. Augustine’s centuries-old Spanish fortress sits feet from the encroaching Atlantic, whose waters already flood the city’s narrow streets about 10 times a year — a problem worsening as sea levels rise. The city relies on tourism, but visitors might someday have to wear waders at high tide.
“If you want to benefit from the fact we’ve been here for 450 years, you have the responsibility to look forward to the next 450,” said Bill Hamilton, whose family has lived in the city since the 1950s. “Is St. Augustine even going to be here? We owe it to the people coming after us to leave the city in good shape".
1) What is nuisance flooding? By the 2050s, sea level rise is likely to cross a tipping point for 26 major U.S. cities, which can expect at least 30 days of “nuisance flooding” each year.
Nuisance flooding is when high tides inundate cities that are close to sea level....See Florida.. NOAA:
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2) What does adjusts mean? "adjusts satellite readings taken from hundreds of miles above the Earth to measure small changes in sea level heights around the globe since the early 1990s."
The article doesn't say what adjustments were made except this..."New research published on Monday in Nature Climate Change refines those satellite estimates and provides some good and bad news. The good news? Total sea level rise is lower than previous estimates. The bad news? Sea level rise rates are speeding up".
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3) Assuming this claim is correct. How much did they rise before? "Sea levels have risen by about a foot since 1900 and the rise is projected to continue accelerating into at least the next century."
Before what?
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4) Is a little over 8 inches about a foot? "Based on a small number (~25) of high-quality tide gauge records from stable land regions, the rate of sea level rise has been estimated as 1.8 mm yr–1 for the past 70 years (Douglas, 2001; Peltier, 2001), and Miller and Douglas (2004) find a range of 1.5 to 2.0 mm yr–1 for the 20th century from 9 stable tide gauge sites." 1.8 mm times 100 years= 180mm = 7.08661 inches.
This is not from the article, and is sparse old data... (9 stable tide gauge sites.) Some facts are well established. Researchers can say that global ocean levels have risen about 19 centimeters in the last century. And the rate of rise has sped up. The 20th-century average is about 1.7 millimeters per year; since 1993 the average rate has nearly doubled — to about 3.2 millimeters per year. Rising Waters: How Fast and How Far Will Sea Levels Rise? by Nicola Jones: Yale Environment 360
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I don't neccesarily buy those figures either but they could be right.
I imagine measuring sea levels on a global scale is a complicated endeavor.
Sea levels rise and fall. Once you could walk from Asia to N America via an ice bridge. Sea levels rose & now we have an Ocean there. Who's fault was that?
Sea levels rise and fall. Once you could walk from Asia to N America via an ice bridge. Sea levels rose & now we have an Ocean there. Who's fault was that?
Arguments like this are really disturbing because they show both a profound lack of understanding about what global warming is, and they also show non-scientific laypersons have drawn impassioned conclusions based on their misinformation.
We have climate data going back millions of years. There is literally no question among scientists that the climate has warmed and cooled in the past. That's not the issue at all.
The issue is that we know the difference between natural climate change and human-induced. What we are experiencing now is human induced. It is increasing much faster than any natural pattern on a global scale and we have an entire civilization built up now that wasn't on the coasts, dependent on agriculture, etc...
Hopefully now that you understand this topic a little better you will be compelled to learn more and also stop fighting against a subject for which every major scientific organization in the world agrees.
There is an uncertainty as to how much warming is human induced and how much is natural.
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It is increasing much faster than any natural pattern on a global scale
That is absolutely false. There have been countless times where global temperatures have fallen and risen much more quickly then the 0.75C that we have experienced since the late 1800's
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