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According to international scientists, global warming will lead to extreme sea level rises almost every year by the middle of the century. This will have an impact on major coastlines around the world, according to new research.
The research was published today in Nature Climate Change. It predicts that extreme sea level rises along coastlines around the globe will be 100 times more common by the end century, in approximately half of the 7,283 locations examined.
The study was co-authored by Dr Ebru Kirezci from the University of Melbourne, an ocean engineering researcher. He said that areas where extreme sea levels will increase faster include the Southern Hemisphere, subtropical areas, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Peninsula and the Southern Half of North America's Pacific Coast. Other areas include Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Philippines.
Dr Kirezci stated that the study also shows that extreme sea level rises will affect most of Australia's eastern, southern, and southwest coastlines by 2100.
Even a 1.5 degree Celsius global temperature rise, this will lead to an increase in extreme sea level events. The changes will be more rapid than expected, as many places could see a 100-fold increase of extreme events by 2070.
Climate scientist at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Dr Claudia Tebaldi was the lead author of the study. She stated that it is not surprising that sea level rise at 1.5 degrees will be significant and have substantial impacts on extreme sea levels frequency and magnitude.
"This study provides a better picture of the world. Dr Tebaldi stated that we were able to see a larger range of warming levels in fine spatial detail.
Researchers called for detailed studies to determine how these changes will affect communities in different countries. The researchers noted that physical changes described in the study will have different impacts on local scales depending on many factors such as how vulnerable a site is to rising water and how prepared a community for change.
These studies should be taken into consideration by policymakers and worked towards improving coastal protection and mitigation. Dr Kirezci stated that there are many steps one can take to adapt to the change.
Continue reading Extreme waves are set to grow in frequency and size due to climate change
Claudia Tebaldi and colleagues, Extreme sea level rises at different levels of global warming, Nature Climate Change (2021). Information from Nature Climate Change Claudia Tebaldi and colleagues, Extreme sea level at different levels of global warming, (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01127-1
