New visualizations show worst-case scenario for sea levels by 2100 – USA Today
Climate Central
http://sealevel.climatecentral.org
Article Synopsis – A report released by NOAA in January included an extreme sea-level rise forecast of 10 to 12 feet of sea-level rise by 2100 around the U.S., compared to the previous estimate of about 8 feet. This would put The U.S. Naval Academy, JFK Airport, the Jefferson Memorial and President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate all underwater by the year 2100. Climate Central, a non-profit environmental research group, has created images that show what such extreme water rises would look like. Florida would be the most affected state by total population, followed by New York, California, Virginia, and New Jersey. Hawaii and Louisiana would rank second and third by percentage of population affected, after Florida, also first in this category.
My Comment – When projections like these are released, it is important to keep in mind that they are worst-case projections. It is currently not possible to fully know how quickly the ice sheets will melt; there are too many unknowns. It is also important to keep in mind that as we learn more about the nature of ice sheet melting, the projections across all ranges have tended to increase. To read the actual article click here.