SILVER SPRING, Md. — Coastlines in the U.S. are expected to change drastically in the coming decades as sea levels rise at significant rates, putting coastal communities at risk.
Scientists are now predicting that sea levels surrounding the U.S. will increase an additional 10 to 12 inches by 2050 -- a century's worth of sea level rise less than 30 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's updated Sea Level Rise Technical Report, which uses satellite observations to make projections for the next 100 years and beyond.
"Even today’s common wind events and seasonal high tides are already regularly flooding communities, and they will do so to an even greater extent in the next few decades, affecting homes and business, overloading stormwater and wastewater systems, infiltrating coastal groundwater aquifers with saltwater, and stressing coastal wetlands and estuarine ecosystems," the report states.
"By 2050, moderate flooding–which is typically disruptive and damaging by today’s weather, sea level and infrastructure standards–is expected to occur more than 10 times as often as it does today," NOAA National Ocean Service Director Nicole LeBoeuf in a statement."These numbers mean a change from a single event every 2-5 years to multiple events each year, in some places.
"We must redouble our efforts to cut the greenhouse gases that cause climate change while, at the same time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the face of rising seas," White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said in a statement.
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