GeoSpace reports on a detailed look at Boston tide records - which date back to the 1825 - and which show that the sea level in Boston Harbor is rising.
And as we found out this past winter, that means trouble, especially when we get nor'easters that hit at high tide.
The study found that Boston is uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise because the land is sinking slightly due to after effects of the last period of glaciation. And while a sun/moon cycle means slightly less risk of catastrophic flooding in the 2020s, all things being equal, it will mean more of a risk in the 2030s, even without taking into effect the increased severity of storms due to climate change.
Using newly-discovered archival measurements to construct an instrumental record of water levels and storm tides in Boston since 1825, researchers report that local averaged relative sea level rose by nearly a foot (0.28 meters) over the past 200 years, with the greatest increase occurring since 1920. The work also highlights tides and their significant effect on flooding in the city.
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Comments
Alaska
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:10pm
Look at the problem the south coast of Alaska is having. Since the land is rising at what is a hell of a clip geologically, the ocean is actually receding at a pace of maybe 10mm a year.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZOxDpVq.jpg[/img]
Idaho
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:36pm
Idaho why you posted this past trends piece, but the reality is that Alaska is already suffering serious climate change consequences, perhaps more so than any other state.
Wildfires are becoming a severe problem, permafrost is melting and roadways are being lost, and sea level rise and loss of arctic ice that sheltered some coastal communities from coastal surges is also endangering coastal communities. Alaska is already relocating and abandoning villages because of this, and putting adaptation plans in place: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/climate/alaska-...
You da ho. OK, whatever.
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 8:09pm
OK, whatever...anyway, ya, Alaska is being twisted like a pretzil. Anyway, the Obama era (2016, so long ago) NOAA map is actually quite precise if you go to the website and focus in on it. As far as it being a 'past trends piece', as the smartest person here, statistically speaking, well, then you must know that ALL future predictions, to have any more probability than a dice roll, [i]must[/i] be based on good data.
Oh, FYI...data is a set of measurements of something that has [i]already happened.[/i]
Alaska
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:13pm
Look at the problem the south coast of Alaska is having. Since the land is rising at what is a hell of a clip geologically, the ocean is actually receding at a pace of maybe 10mm a year.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZOxDpVq.jpg[/img]
Nice try sweetie pie
By anon
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:17pm
Try this for size: ALASKA is already RELOCATING communities due to sea level rise:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/climate/alaska-...
We really must stop meeting like this...
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 8:15pm
[img]https://i.imgur.com/5OWkXBZ.jpg[/img]
Try this on for size...from the NY Times article you cite (Democracy Dies in Darkness)...
..."cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, as protective sea ice vanishes and fierce waves erode Alaska’s shores."
...which is not really the same as "RELOCATING communities due to sea level rise:"
It's amazing how dismissive people are being
By Scauma
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 1:28pm
The world, and this country will change dramatically in our lifetimes. I wish I had the energy to go into details and over the data but it's depressing just thinking about it.
Don't get depressed. Yes, things will change.
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 8:30pm
The same people that were selling us armageddon 30 years ago (I'm looking at you, Erlich) are selling us armageddon now. It's very lucrative.
It's real, but they have an agenda. To the practical person, clean, fuel efficient cars are a way to go. Well insulated houses are a way to go. I have a gas heater that runs so efficiently that it uses plastic plumbing pipe for an exhaust pipe.Telling Berkowitz to not store his legal fish in the damn basement on the waterfront sounds like a way to go. Maybe he can block the windows. I dunno. I don't care.
Planning for a future where ocean levels on the waterfront are higher is a logical and good thing. Raise foundations, new buildings have utilities on the second floor, all great...
Building the fucking Zuider Zee in Boston Harbor is just plain dumb.
Sure could use some of that Global Warming today...
By O-FISH-L
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 1:55pm
Sure could use some of that
Global Warmingtoday. Too bad they rebranded it to Climate Change to cover everything."They" are the Frank Luntz
By Omri
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 2:28pm
"They" are the Frank Luntz and the Republican party.
Ask him. He's around. He got the W administration to use the term "climate change," and the rest of us got used to using it.
The national Republican Party is in denial
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:53pm
The locals who actually care about the Commonwealth are pretty freaked out by the constant onslaught of perils: Snowmageddon, two-year drought, and the Noreaster Surge Fiesta that we called March.
Know who took that picture of the last bad surge up to that Sea Level Rise in Boston Harbor sign at the Aquarium?
A fairly high ranking Republican in state government.
The Stupid
By SamWack
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 2:35pm
is strong in this one.
OMFG
By Fenwickian
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 2:38pm
You are an idiot AND a troll. I hope to god you're not breeding.
Meanwhile, in the real world
By anon
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 2:46pm
The Gulf of Maine is warming at an accelerating pace
[img]https://multifiles.pressherald.com/uploads/sites/4...
climate change
By Bobp
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 3:20pm
they re named it because people like the President could not grasp that global warming didnt mean it was going to be hot all the time. Oh and today's storm is very unusual. following the normal pattern of a winter North Easter.
More accurate
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 4:03pm
We aren't just warming the planet, but perturbing our entire climate system in doing so.
The NOAA and NASA folks that I know are currently looking into whether we are not just making everything warmer (like that Union of Concerned Scientists graphic where MA gets relocated to the south over time), but changing our climate classification as well. We have been seeing a trend toward dryer summers in the last decade - a concern for an area that has historically seen rainfall amounts distributed throughout the year. No firm determination on that just yet - but it is something that we would need to plan for in the future.
Save the Sugarbowl!!
By Charlie
Mon, 06/04/2018 - 11:05pm
The Sugarbowl is built on sand, it could be sinking too!! Save the sugarbowl!!
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