New method reveals potential losses at four U.S. locations
What will happen as the ocean continues to rise? That’s a key question NOAA researchers and collaborators asked regarding sea level rise in four U.S. coastal metro areas. Using several sources of global and local information, a team examined how rising sea levels would impact four U.S. housing markets, finding that coastal properties are expected to become more prone to flooding in the coming decades with risk dependent on location.
In the study published in the journal Environmental Systems and Decisions, researchers looked at Atlantic City, NJ; Miami, FL; Galveston, TX; and Newport–San Pedro, CA, to delve into the potential impacts of sea level rise on thousands of homes in areas of concern.
Given that approximately 40% of the U.S. population lives in coastal communities, the study team set out to create an easy-to-replicate way to discern the impact of sea level rise. Earth’s warming is expected to exacerbate rising coastal waters in the short and long term. Sea level has risen 8–9 inches (21–24 centimeters) since 1880. In 2020, global sea level set a new record high—3.6 inches (91.3 millimeters) above 1993 levels, according to NOAA. The researchers used readily available data about housing characteristics, local topography, tidal conditions, elevation, and sea-level-rise (SLR) projections as the basis for a methodology to serve the public’s need for climate change information.
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