"The Drowning South: Where Seas Are Rising At Alarming Speed"

"One of the most rapid sea level surges on Earth is besieging the American South, forcing a reckoning for coastal communities across eight U.S. states, a Washington Post analysis has found.

At more than a dozen tide gauges spanning from Texas to North Carolina, sea levels are at least 6 inches higher than they were in 2010 — a change similar to what occurred over the previous five decades.

Scientists are documenting a barrage of impacts — ones, they say, that will confront an even larger swath of U.S. coastal communities in the coming decades — even as they try to decipher the precise causes of this recent surge.

The Gulf of Mexico has experienced twice the global average rate of sea level rise since 2010, a Post analysis of satellite data shows. Few other places on the planet have seen similar rates of increase, such as the North Sea near the United Kingdom."

Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis, Kevin Crowe and John Muyskens report for the Washington Post April 29, 2024.

SEE ALSO:

"The New Face Of Flooding" (Washington Post)

"Climate Change: Global Sea Level" (NOAA)

 

Source: Washington Post, 04/30/2024