Since the dawn of time, the climate has been changing. The sea level is one aspect of the climate that is significantly impacted by these changes. Sea levels increase in warm climates where seawater expands caused by glacial ice melts in such places as Greenland. The sea level rises in tandem with the planet’s rising warmth. Significant sea level increase has occurred. The rise in sea level will have a significant effect on people who live near coastlines.
The expansion of saltwater caused by a warm environment and the melting of glaciers on land are two key drivers in sea level rise. Because of external reasons like subsidence, control, erosion, changes in land height, etc., sea level only rises in a few specific areas around the globe. Subsidence, which causes the land to shrink by 1.1 to 4.8 millimeters per year, raises the sea level and causes floods.
The sea level has considerably increased over time. Satellite laser altimeters and tide stations are used to measure sea levels using tide stations built on the edges of the coastline. A tidal gauge, which continuously records the height of the surrounding water, is used to measure the tides. Satellite laser altimeters can calculate the height of the sea level by measuring the amount of time it takes a radar pulse to travel from the satellite to the sea surface and back. The measurement of the sea level rise between 1900 and 1990 was 4-5 inches. After 25 years, from 1990 to 2015, the sea level rose by 3 inches. Our tide gauge and satellite laser altimeters show that the sea level rises by 1/8 inch year. By 2100, the sea level is expected to have increased by up to 1/8 feet.
Numerous repercussions on the planet occur as a result of rising sea levels, including tainted drinking water, ruined agriculture, reduced beach space, and floods. As the sea rises even further up the shore, it will often seep into groundwater sources that provide drinking water to many coastal areas. The bulk of freshwater on Earth is found in groundwater, and these underground water reservoirs, or aquifers, are crucial freshwater springs. Although it is possible to remove the salt from water, doing so would be expensive and difficult. Drinking saltwater is dangerous. The same freshwater sources that we use for our drinking supply is the water we use for irrigation. The issues are the same here: These sources of groundwater might become saltier as a result of the approaching sea and saltwater can stunt or even kill crops. Producing freshwater from saltwater is costly and unsustainable.
States that have been through floods caused by sea level rising are adapting to this specific change. Coastal communities are already being uprooted by sea level rise. When it announced $1 billion in grants to support climate adaptation initiatives in 13 states earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made headlines. A 60-person tribal village on Louisiana’s Isle de Jean Charles, which has lost 98 percent of its territory since 1955, will receive one of the funds in order to relocate. The indigenous population is being referred to as the first group of “U.S. Climate Refugees” by the media. Officials from the government saw this award as a model for managing future evictions and a wise investment in light of the trends predicted for ongoing (and rapid) sea rise.
The issues are the same here: Sources of groundwater might become saltier as a result of the approaching sea, producing freshwater from saltwater is costly and unsustainable and, as already mentioned, saltwater can stunt or even kill crops.
Citations:
Adapting to sea level rise in the U.S. California Academy of Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://calacademy.org/explore-science/adapting-to-sea-level-rise-in-the-us
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-level
Harvey, C. (n.d.). Sea-level rise will cause more than flooding – these 5 other impacts of rising oceans are just as bad. Business Insider. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/5-terrifying-impacts-of-rising-sea-levels-2015-2
US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2013, June 1). How is sea level rise related to climate change? NOAA’s National Ocean Service. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevelclimate.html
image: https://abcnews.go.com/US/sea-level-rise-expected-worsen-coastal-flooding-sunny/story?id=87874281
One Response
This blog is nicely explained and very informative. I liked how the topic has been introduced with informative details. Sea level rise has become an imminent threat to the people of our world. It is true that the water in the ocean has significantly been rising over the years. Increased temperature and melting glacier ice is helping the sea level to increase. Countries that have been through floods caused by sea level rise are adapting to this specific change. Coastal communities are already being uprooted by sea level rise. Moreover, Satellite laser altimeters and tide stations are used to measure sea levels using tide stations built on the edges of the coastline. If we closely look our data we can see that the measurement of the sea level rise between 1900 and 1990 was 4-5 inches. After 25 years, from 1990 to 2015, the sea level rose by 3 inches. The global mean water level in the ocean rose by 0.14 inches (3.6 millimeters) per year from 2006–2015, which was 2.5 times the average rate of 0.06 inches (1.4 millimeters) per year throughout most of the twentieth century. In addition, ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet increased seven-fold from 34 billion tons per year between 1992-2001 to 247 billion tons per year between 2012 and 2016. With all of this data it is very clear that we are going to face humongous natural disasters in coming future. In my opinion, I would say we should initiate effective steps to save the world from these disasters. In order to accomplish our goal, we must prevent global warming by reducing carbon usage.