Coastal cities worldwide would face a reduced threat from sea level rise if society reduced greenhouse gas emissions, with especially significant benefits for New York and other U.S. East Coast cities, new research indicates.
The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), used a powerful computer model to tease out the ways that winds and currents in a warming world push ocean water around, lifting it in some regions and lowering it in others. The scientists examined how these variations in sea level rise would change under two conditions: if emissions continue on their current trajectory, or if they are sharply reduced.
Coastal cities worldwide would face a reduced threat from sea level rise if society reduced greenhouse gas emissions, with especially significant benefits for New York and other U.S. East Coast cities, new research indicates.
The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), used a powerful computer model to tease out the ways that winds and currents in a warming world push ocean water around, lifting it in some regions and lowering it in others. The scientists examined how these variations in sea level rise would change under two conditions: if emissions continue on their current trajectory, or if they are sharply reduced.
The results showed that, if society can implement cuts soon on emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, the projected increases in sea level around the globe would be significantly less toward the end of the century. This would help coastal cities in much of the world as they try to fend off rising waters, with the benefits most pronounced for cities on parts of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
"Mitigating greenhouse gases will reduce sea level rise later this century, with some regions seeing especially significant benefits," said NCAR scientist Aixue Hu, the lead author of the new study. "As city officials prepare for sea level rise, they can factor in the compounding effect of local conditions, which are due to the winds and currents that cause internal variability in the oceans."
Read more at National Center for Atmospheric Research
