A "wobble" in the moon's orbit may lead to record floods on Earth

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Every coast in the U.S. is facing rapidly increasing high tide floods thanks to a "wobble" in the moon's orbit working in tandem with climate change-fueled rising sea levels.

A new study from NASA and the University of Hawaii, published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change, warns that upcoming changes in the moon's orbit could lead to record flooding on Earth in the next decade.

Through mapping the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) sea-level rise scenarios, flooding thresholds and astronomical cycles, researchers found flooding in American coastal cities could be several multiples worse in the 2030s, when the next moon "wobble" is expected to begin. They expect the flooding to significantly damage infrastructure and displace communities.

While the study highlights the dire situation facing coastal cities, the lunar wobble is actually a natural occurrence, first reported in 1728. The moon's orbit is responsible for periods of both higher and lower tides about every 18.6 years, and they aren't dangerous in their own right.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/a-wobble-in-the-moon-s-orbit-may-lead-to-record-floods-on-earth/ar-AAM6Sci

[SoonerPride]

1. How many times do we rebuild along the coast before we tell people they have to move inland?

So far we seem to just let people rebuild in flood areas over and over knowing full well that it'll happen again and again and again.

At what point, if ever, do we say "this is uninhabitable land and you need to rebuild inland."

I guess never.

[Hortensis]

6. Economics and local physical realities will pretty much tell owners what

they want to do with their land and when or if they want to move inland. Up on one of the Great Lakes we drove by homes being submerged by lake rise, and no high-rise condos being built on platforms above the water or miles of sea wall construction. No need for anyone to tell those owners "this is uninhabitable." And they already their beautiful properties were uninsurable and unsellable.

As you indicate, though, communities have a long and strong bias toward helping their taxpayers and voters keep their homes and neighborhoods. A lot will depend on what's required to save residents' lifestyles and investments for another 30 years or more. We don't build for the centuries for a lot of practical reasons anyway.

I do wish taxpayers would weigh in more on land use decisions they'll have to help pay for. It would be appropriate to have more say, but wish in one hand... 80 million people didn't bother to vote last November. Still. And of course another 70 milllion voted for sea level rise and the giant sucking sound of subsidizing hierarchical privilege.

[chowder66]

3. Pro-moonwobblers are going to be the next anti-vaxxers. nt

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. Crazy Louie

wanted to know if NASA or NOAA or somebody couldn't change the moon's orbit to combat climate change. I guess he got his wish. Maybe he prayed hard enough or something.

[Blues Heron]

5. The lunar wobble is a natural occurrence!

Thank goodness! Who writes this stuff? Could be Several multiples worse! Multiples of what?

[oasis]

11. The late British PM, Margaret Thatcher would admonish the moon. nt

[fishwax]

7. I wonder if this stems from that time we bombed the moon back in the Obama administration

Well, okay, to be fair, we didn't really bomb the moon. But here on DU we had huge arguments about it just the same, and I guess I'm feeling nostalgic 🤣

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. An explanation of the 18.6 year cycle, from when it last peaked in 2015

Yet some spring tides are higher than others. Tidal forces are strengthened if the moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Tide generating forces are also enhanced when the Sun and the moon are directly overhead at the equator. For the Sun this happens on or around the equinoxes, which happen on 21 March or September. Spring tides are always higher at these times of year. The moon's orbit also takes it above and below the equator over a period of 27.2 days. Just as with the Sun, the tide generating forces are greatest when the moon is directly overhead at the equator.

The high tides predicted for 2015 are due to a very slow change in the moon's orbit, which is inclined to the plane in which Earth orbits the Sun. The moon's orbit cuts this surface at an angle of approximately 5 degrees. Over 18.6 years the moon's orbit slowly rotates around so it cuts through the solar orbit in a different place. This so-called nodal cycle has the effect of changing how far above or below the equator the moon can reach in its orbit.

In 2015 the moon's orbital excursion above or below the equator takes the minimum value of 18 degrees. This slightly increases the chances of the moon being directly overhead at the equator coinciding with the other factors that contribute to extreme tidal forces.

In some places, these extreme tidal conditions can cause water levels to be 0.5m higher than a normal spring tide. But it is important to remember that stormy weather has a greater impact than exotic tides. Storm surges, due to low pressure and high winds, can raise sea levels by up to 3m around the UK coastline.

https://phys.org/news/2015-09-highest-tides-years-week-uk.html

[helendavis]

9. Noooooooo!

Last edited Tue Jun 14, 2022, 02:59 AM - Edit history (1)

Climate change giving some strong side eye to the Moon. /s
friday night funkin

[gopiscrap]

12. welcome to DU

[raccoon]

10. Maybe the astronauts who went there set up some weird experiment that's

Causing this.

[Dial H For Hero]

13. Obvious solution: Nuke the Moon.

https://m.

Problem solved.