14 DAY TRIAL // New reports from the US National Research Council bring us troubling news: over the next century, global sea levels are quite likely to rise two to three times higher than it was originally estimated.
Preliminary figures indicate that sea levels will go up by about 50-140 centimeters (20-55 inches), mainly because the polar ice-cap is melting at an ever increasing pace.
As Raw Story reports, this new study is intended to aid high officials from California in taking the necessary safety precautions so as to make sure that the state's coastal areas are well prepared to deal with changes in global sea levels.
Although the entire US West Coast will be affected by said rise in sea levels, it seems that Southern California is a bit more vulnerable than other regions, as a result of land erosion and subsiding coastline.
Interestingly enough, it seems that the Northern part of this Sunshine State will most likely be faced with lower sea levels, as a result of tectonic plates re-arranging their positions.
As explained in the report: “The lower sea levels projected for northern California, Washington and Oregon coasts are because the land is rising largely due to plate tectonics.”
One other thing that worries specialists is the possibility of rising sea levels being accompanied by extreme weather manifestations.
Apparently, major earthquakes could occur, and powerful storms – together with high waves – might hit the coastline when we least expect it.
The same source informs us that Robert Dalrymple from the Johns Hopkins University made it clear that: “as the average sea level rises, the number and duration of extreme storm surges and high waves are expected to escalate, and this increases the risk of flooding, coastal erosion and wetland loss.”
All in all, it seems that it won't be long before coastlines around the world will begin to experience the effects of climate change and global warming, in particular.