U.S. East Coast a Hotspot of Sea-Level Rise

Harperdog writes "Nature just published this study of sea-level rise and how global warming does not force the it to happen everywhere at the same rate. Interesting stuff about what, exactly, contributes to this uneven rise, and how the East Coast of the U.S., which used to have a relatively low sea level, is now a hotspot in that the sea level there is rising faster than elsewhere."

Re:Question

[geekmux]

I'm not an expert, I've tried to research this, but I find contradictory information which I assume is related to the political nature of the issue. In a nutshell, why can't we use GPS to determine the actual impact of rising sea levels? It would seem to me to be very elementary to place some sort of beacon in a few spots to determine what the actual sea level is. Granted, you might have to wait for calm waters, but nothing about this seems difficult.

Yes, you're right, nothing about this does seem difficult. All we have to do is remove the political influence driven by greed.

Wow. I just realized I asked for the impossible. No wonder this has gone nowhere.

How to differientiate sources.

[Anonymous Coward]

I've tried to research this, but I find contradictory information which I assume is related to the political nature of the issue. In a nutshell,...

Perhaps you should be a bit more discriminate in your sources when you do research.

Here's some help: ignore Talk Radio Hosts, Fox News , and industry backed Think Tanks with "advisers" who have scientific PhDs in everything BUT Climate Science. (ALL of whom tell half truths and lies ).

That should make things a bit more clear.

Re:Question

[ackthpt]

I'm not an expert, I've tried to research this, but I find contradictory information which I assume is related to the political nature of the issue. In a nutshell, why can't we use GPS to determine the actual impact of rising sea levels? It would seem to me to be very elementary to place some sort of beacon in a few spots to determine what the actual sea level is. Granted, you might have to wait for calm waters, but nothing about this seems difficult.

Yes, you're right, nothing about this does seem difficult. All we have to do is remove the political influence driven by stupidity.

Wow. I just realized I asked for the impossible. No wonder this has gone nowhere.

FTFY

Humans are the only animal known to destroy their own habitat.

Continental Shft

[linuxrunner]

Last I check, we're on these floating masses called "plates" and they actually move around, shift and stuff. Some get pushed under others, etc. Wouldn't that simply explain why one section might be seeing a change in sea level and not another?

Lastly, why does everyone panic when the world changes a little? We have fish fossils on mountain tops, dinosaur bones, the land mass used to be one large hunk of land. Mountains were created through plate shifts and valleys and hills formed by ice ages. So, knowing all this... Where do we come off panicking when there is the slightest change from the prior year? Do folks expect the world to sit stagnant as we know if forever and ever, and all the history of the world be damned? It will never change again?

Seems like these things are more politically motivated and looking for someone to blame rather than someone rationally just standing up and saying "Well, what did you think was going to happen? The same thing year after year? Had to change sometime..."

Re:Question

[Antipater]

Humans are the only animal known to destroy their own habitat.

I laughed, but then I got a creeping suspicion you were actually serious. Why do people always say this? It's just flat-out wrong.

Re:It has nothing to do with global warming

[Belial6]

That means that any place with 'localized sea level rise' should also have massive and consistent increases in water input. Has the east cost had massive increases in rain fall? The AGW explanations given all seem to fall into the 'we hit the hockey stick' category. I haven't heard about an hockey stick weather changes on the east coast, even from the most die hard AGW supporters. This would lead me to believe that the explanation would fall into the "mass redistributions changing gravity and the Earth’s rotation and shape" or simple measurement errors*.

* I know that the measurement equipment is exceptionally accurate, but changing the way you measure so that you get different results, and then comparing it to measurements performed using the old method is one form of measurement error.

Re:It has nothing to do with global warming

[cayenne8]

New Orleans was built below sea level . . . I dont know of any other metropolotian cities built beloew sea level.

True..but then again...it was almost 300 years ago, before GPS and all the nifty tech tools we have now...and it was built where it is due to the important location, near the mouth of the MS river...hence, why the city is so important. It was just a bit disheartening to hear all the people, many from the NE saying "they shouldn't have built there, just leave, not worth saving...etc".

I guess many of the same people neglect the facts that NYC has pretty much the exact same disaster scenario, and are WAY overdue [nyc.gov] for a hurricane there...NYC can get hit by a medium level hurricane and if in the right place, kiss it goodbye.

Will people say it isn't worth saving, and they shouldn't have been built there too?

On a larger scale...do we say the same about the midwest in the country..when in recent years, flooding has knocked down cities there?

What about the panhandle area...prone to tornadoes annually? What about out west, where they seem to have annual problems with fires and mudslides....?

Seems like most of the country comes around for those areas...yet, NOLA, with its importance for energy and a great deal of commerce (not to mention the cultural influences on the whole US)....gets brushed off more easily.

Sorry...I still have some soft spots for the callous comments on this forum and other places when it hit.

PS. I believe Amsterdam is another city built far below sea level....and they had no problems doing what it took to built defenses against the sea for that little town....