Low-lying coastal communities in the US may face flooding much more regularly in the following decades, according to NASA, which stated that sea levels are likely increasing faster than previously thought.
According to a study that looked at three decades' worth of satellite data, sea levels around the coastlines of the contiguous US might rise to 12 inches (30 cm) beyond present waterlines by 2050.
A man looks out at vehicles stuck along a flooded street after heavy rains hit the area in Linyi in China's eastern Shandong province on August 14, 2020.
Sea Levels May Flood US Coastal Cities
NASA said a warmer climate has caused the sea level to rise globally for many years, and there is evidence that the rise is speeding more quickly than before.
The most recent statistics are in line with the worst-case scenarios stated in an interagency analysis published in February 2022.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other government organizations worked together to produce that research, which stated that sea levels would increase dramatically over the following 30 years.
They estimated an average rise of 10 to 14 inches (25 to 35 centimeters) for the East Coast, 14 to 18 inches (35 to 45 centimeters) for the Gulf Coast, and 4 to 8 inches (11 to 20 centimeters) for the West Coast (10 to 20 centimeters).
Using the methods outlined in that previous paper as a foundation, a group of scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California matched tide gauge records from the NOAA going as far back as 1920 with 28 years' worth of sea surface height measurements from satellite altimeters.
Tidal gauges, which provide a trustworthy record to contrast with satellite data, continually measure the height of the surrounding water level, according to NASA.
According to the researchers, it is probable that future sea level rise will be higher than anticipated in all places, given the accelerated pace of sea level rise shown in satellite data from 1993 to 2020, and the direction of those trends.
More Danger in Southeast Gulf Coastlines
The trends along the US Southeast and Gulf coastlines are substantially greater than those along the Northeast and West coasts, despite the Southeast and Gulf coasts' correspondingly broader range of uncertainty.
The main drivers of this uncertainty are the effects of storms and other climate fluctuations, as well as the sinking or shifting of the Earth's surface naturally along various areas of the coast.
According to NASA, the risks associated with rising sea levels are made worse by natural occurrences on Earth.
For instance, by the middle of the 2030s, every US coast would experience higher high-tide floods due to a wobble in the Moon's orbit that occurs every 18.6 years.
"A key takeaway is that sea level rise along the U.S. coast has continued to accelerate over the past three decades," said JPL's Ben Hamlington in a statement.
Hamilton is the leader of the NASA Sea Level Change Team and a co-author of both the new study and the earlier report.
According to Hamlington, this moon cycle plus the increasing sea level will cause the consequences of high-tide flooding to exacerbate between the years 2030 and 2040.
NASA also underlined that seasonal changes like those brought on by El Nio and La Nia make it impossible to anticipate how quickly and how high sea levels would rise each year.
Hamilton did point out that as satellites continue to offer more data over time, estimations will continue to be improved.
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