Rising sea levels.

[kansasblue]

So we are all reading about 'sea levels rising'. But if sea level rises off the coast of Alaska then sea levels should be rising off Cape Cod or Florida or in San Francisco, right? It just seems to me that we should see the sea rise every where. Now I acknowledge that some islands and coast lines are very flat and it only take a small increase to flood a lot of land. Others are very steep and even a large increase in water levels would have little impact. But I suspect on every coast someone is tracking the sea's level. So all around the United States and around the world we should be able to see the rise of the ocean. That's the way it seems to me. I'd be happy to be enlightened on this subject if I'm way off. So I suspect we have a member on the Cape. Is the sea level rising there?




http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070529/us_nm/alaska_dc

"Some coastal areas like the Inupiat village of Shishmaref on a narrow Chukchi Sea barrier island are disappearing as sea levels rise, forcing a $100 million relocation plan."

[Maru Kitteh]

1. Way to be from Kansas, but you do have a good question. The answer is

of course it is. This rise is measurable all across the globe but impacts different regions differently for the reasons you mentioned as well as the equatorial bulge and other factors.

Forgot to add: I'm from Nebraska so the "Way to be from Kansas" thing was in good, landlocked fun.

[ben_meyers]

6. Mean Elevation of Florida is only 100 feet above sea level.

Good question, you would think that Florida would have at least some low level flooding too, but I read that they are having a problem with drought.


http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/fl_geography.htm

On the other hand, maybe it's time to buy up some of that beach front property in western AZ.

[Journeyman]

2. I've wondered this myself, and I live within smelling distance of the sea. . .

and many of my friends live on the water's edge, within harbors and along the shore, yet we've seen no appreciable rise in water levels here in Southern California.

I've seen speculative maps that show the shore at my doorstep in forty years, but there's a massive housing development, million dollar homes, going in right next to the local wetlands, and rather than building dikes they're opening inlets from the sea, so I'd be very interested in the answer to your question.

[Tesha]

11. Why would the developers worry about the rising sea level? P.T. Barnum was right!

> I've seen speculative maps that show the shore at my
> doorstep in forty years, but there's a massive housing
> development, million dollar homes, going in right next
> to the local wetlands, and rather than building dikes
> they're opening inlets from the sea...

Why would the developers worry about the rising sea level?
P.T. Barnum was right: there's a sucker born every minute
so as long as fools buy-in to the developer's development,
what does the developer care? It's not like there's a form
1273X "Rising Sea Level Disclosure Form" yet that has to
be signed at the closing.

The construction of your local development conveys exactly
zero useful data on whether sea levels are actually rising
(and they are).

Tesha

[madrchsod]

3. since we are in the midwest

i`d say our problem could be no water.. the dust bowl years may become permanent

[lonestarnot]

4. Don't know that but do know that crops are pooping out, no grass

in the meadows for those moo types. Grain (corn) rising in cost. Drugs? Hungry when we gona eat!

[SPKrazy]

5. I figure I live on the gulf of Arkansas

or at least a harbor

:shrug:

the sea level has to rise everywhere, you are right

[TheMadMonk]

7. It's rising faster at the pole right now, because of thermal expansion.

[ben_meyers]

8. Interesting theory

So The melting ice pack is causing thermal expansion of the oceans at the north and south poles but not nearer the equator? That's a bit confusing, could you provide a link to some studies proving that? I tried Google, but all I found was that thermal expansion was a result of world wide temp increases in the oceans causing an increase in water volume almost too small to measure.

[Possumpoint]

9. Water

seeks it's own level. It does however, react to gravitation forces like the moon's pull. If large amounts of water are added, the level will rise everywhere. Some areas that are subject to large tidal surges will probably have larger tidal surges.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Answer from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level

Are long term changes in sea level the same everywhere?

No. Long term changes in sea level measured at the coast (e.g. by tide gauges) are a consequence of 'real' changes in the level of the ocean (e.g. due to climate change), to which must be added changes in the level of the land.

Changes in ocean level due to climate change can be greater in some places than others because the ocean circulation will adapt to accommodate the new climate regime (see the IPCC reports for a review). Most knowledge of the global pattern of vertical land movements comes from geological data which are included in geodynamic models of the Earth. The main geological process involved is called Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA). For example, in the UK, GIA results in sea level rising less rapidly in Scotland than in southern England. However, there are other geological processes, violent changes due to earthquakes being the most dramatic. Land level changes are now being investigated by geodetic research groups using the Global Positioning System and Absolute Gravity techniques. See again the PSMSL training web pages.

http://www.pol.ac.uk/psmsl/puscience/#6

[Toots]

12. In much of coastal Alaska the land is actually rising much faster than the water

There is an upheaval of land mass going on that has been steady for hundreds of years. It is still rising faster than the melting glaciers fuel the rise of sea water. There is also a spring effect. When the huge mass of ice leaves the land mass by melting or ?? the land springs upward at the loss of such tremendous weight. Complicated I know but yet a fact..