Climate change affects coastlines at greater rate than other

GISCafe Voice

Susan Smith
Susan Smith has worked as an editor and writer in the technology industry for over 16 years. As an editor she has been responsible for the launch of a number of technology trade publications, both in print and online. Currently, Susan is the Editor of GISCafe and AECCafe, as well as those sites’ … More »

Climate change affects coastlines at greater rate than other places on the planet

August 27th, 2012 by Susan Smith

Global climate change on the Atlantic coast is in fast-forward mode — swamping and eroding beaches, wetlands and farm fields, according to scientists. Shorelines from North Carolina to Boston are in a ‘hotspot’ for sea-level rise and will see water levels rise at double the rate of most places on the planet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. What is the cause of this is a double geological activity.

For taxpayers a looming issue is where to spend money and energy attempting to hold back the ocean — and where to retreat and allow nature to take its course.

The Earth’s atmosphere is already reeling from the vast amounts of carbon dioxide and similar heat-trapping gases from power plants, vehicles and other sources, according to scientists. They attribute these changes to human causes. They predict that the resulting rise in air and sea-surface temperatures, along with melting glaciers and land ice, will push up sea levels globally by more than one-and-a-half feet by 2100.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and other federal and science agency reports, sea levels are expected to rise faster and higher along the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey coasts — nearly 1.5 feet by 2050 and 3.5 to nearly 5 feet by the end of the century,

-Wilmington News, USA Today Weather

Tags: coastal climate change, environmental, geospatial, GIS, mapping

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