Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Flashcards
Risks
Amplified storm surges
Shoreline degradation and erosion
Permanent flooding
Salt water intrusion ruining drinking water
SLR
High risk areas - Maldives (1.5 m above sea level)
By 2050, approx 18.5 million people in Bangladesh may be vulnerable to flooding from increases cyclonic surges
Loss of usable land likely to add to refugee problems - complex political and ethical challenges
How do we know Sea Level has changes
Geologic Record
Tide Gauges
Satellites- direct measurement of surface or measure where mass is on earth
How do we predict future of SLR
Computer simulations
What can science now tell us about SLR
Potential for sea level rise faster than 1 meter per 100 years, up to 10 metres
3 million years ago- much higher sea levels (45m)
400,000 15m
125,000 10 m
Present 2 m
What contributes to uneven distribution of Sea Level rise?
Pressure systems Atmosphere and circulation Land rises / isostaic rebound Ocean currents Wind patterns Changes in earths gravitational pill
Factors influencing SLR fingerprint
Ocean currents
Prevailing wind patterns
Geological changes in land elevation (subsidence, isostatic rebound)
Changes in earths gravitational field (mass loss from ice sheets)
SLR location depends on source location
SLR doesn’t occur evenly across the globe
Where ice is lost effects geoid
Associated SLR depends on origins of water mass
(Ice loss in Greenland doesn’t directly effect Greenland)
Lose ability to pull water towards it
Components of SLR
Slow response to warming = long time period for SLR change - deep ocean thermal expansion, Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets
Medium response to warming = medium time period for SLR to change - near surface thermal expansion, glaciers and small ice caps
Fast response to warming = short time period for SLR to change - terrestrial storage
