A study predicted that a sea level rise threatens 1,400 U.S. cities and towns in 2100, unless, there are deep cuts in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
The study forecasted 4-feet sea-level rise that will flood parts of 316 municipalities mentioned in previous studies which were not able to provide a timeline. However, this new study published in the online journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday was able to provide a timeline which may end in 2100 if global warming persists.
"It's like this invisible threat," wrote Benjamin Strauss, lead author of the study and a scientist at Climate Central. “These sea levels are much higher than what's predicted this century because climate change multiplies their impact over hundreds of years.” He used the elevation data and 2010 Census population figures to draft his conclusion. He then integrated his conclusion with Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research which initially ruled out the 4-feet sea-level rise.
Strauss explained that even if the greenhouse gas emissions stop, sea level rising won’t stop. It is because carbon dioxide settles in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and contributes to the loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and higher temperatures – two factors that raise sea levels.
His horrible projections suggest that the billions of dollars in damages from last year's Superstorm Sandy are a forerunner of the future. "The current trend in carbon emissions likely implies the eventual crippling or loss of most coastal cities in the world."
Some climate scientists argued that the findings are unproductive. Jayantha Obeysekera of the South Florida Water Management District told USA Today, “Looking at such a distant tomorrow could scare people about something that might not happen for centuries. Such long-term projections may not be helpful to U.S. planners who tend to focus on the next few decades.”
Approximately 3.6 million Americans are already considered at risk, because half of their populations live below the future high tide level that prior emissions have locked in, according to Strauss’ study.
Unless major changes occur, more than 100 cities in Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, and New Jersey are in danger, being Florida as the most at risk.
Strauss wrote that the catastrophe can be shunned or alleviated with deep global pollution cuts followed by technology that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Such bold steps could help preserve hundreds of coastal communities.
If current emissions continue, his analysis projects the year when global carbon emissions will submerge hundreds of U.S. cities underwater— below the high-tide line — of the land that now houses half their residents: Galveston, Texas (2030); Miami (2040); Norfolk, Va., (2044); Coral Gables, Fla. (2044); and Virginia Beach (2054).
