Tag

Sea Level Rise

All articles tagged with #sea level rise

science23 hours ago•2 min saved

Ancient Coastline Revealed Beneath the Great Barrier Reef

A 24-day voyage off Queensland used high‑resolution sonar mapping and sediment cores to reveal a submerged coastal plain beneath the Great Barrier Reef, exposing ancient rivers, lakes, estuaries and beaches that First Nations people inhabited before sea levels rose about 7,000 years ago. Conducted with the Darumbal and Woppaburra communities, the effort weaves scientific data with Indigenous knowledge to reconstruct past environments and inform reef protection and climate understanding.

via Gizmodo|

#great-barrier-reef #indigenous-history #paleoenvironment-reconstruction

climate1 day ago•8 min saved

Global Ocean Heat Reaches Record as El Niño Strengthens

Global ocean surface temperatures outside polar regions reached 21.1C (70F), the hottest on record, driven by El Niño atop decades of human-caused warming. Measurements from buoys, ships and satellites show a narrow margin above previous records, with El Niño expected to strengthen further and possibly push the record higher again in the coming years. Warmer seas can fuel extreme weather, raise sea levels and harm marine life, with widespread marine heatwaves and notable warmth around Europe.

via BBC|

#climate #climate-change #el-nino

environment2 days ago•3 min saved

Record ocean heat hits new high as El Niño accelerates warming

Global ocean surface temperatures reached a record August average of 21.1C, boosted by a strong El Niño atop decades of human-caused warming. The heat drives more marine heatwaves, contributes to sea‑level rise and more extreme weather, and reduces the ocean’s capacity to absorb CO2. The Arctic is warming fastest, and scientists urge rapid fossil-fuel cuts and stronger protection of marine ecosystems to safeguard coastal communities.

via The Guardian|

#climate-change #el-nino #environment

science6 days ago•13 min saved

Moon’s 18.6-year wobble could boost coastal floods on sunny days by mid-2030s

NASA-backed research says the Moon’s 18.6-year orbital wobble will amplify high tides as sea levels rise, pushing three-to-four times as many nuisance flood days onto U.S. coastlines starting in the mid-2030s. Flooding could occur on calm, clear days rather than storms, with regional impact varying based on local geography and subsidence; NOAA projections suggest a wide range (roughly 33–125% more flood days on some coasts). The trend will require localized planning and adaptation for coastal communities as the baseline sea level continues to rise.

via Space Daily|

#coastal-planning #moon-wobble #nuisance-flooding

science17 days ago•4 min saved

Ross Ice Shelf: Antarctica’s 800-km ice shield guarding against 5 meters of sea-level rise

Stretching about 800 km across Antarctica’s Ross Sea, the Ross Ice Shelf is the world’s largest ice shelf and a crucial stabilizer for the Antarctic ice sheet. Its massive mass (largely below the waterline) flows forward at hundreds of meters per year and periodically calves huge icebergs; if it collapses, global sea levels could rise by up to 5 metres. While basal melting occurs, including solar-driven melt near Ross Island, the shelf remains relatively stable for now and is closely monitored as a key indicator of climate change.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#antarctica #climate-change #ice-shelf-melting

weather19 days ago•3 min saved

El Niño Strengthening Could Drive California Coast to Record Sea Levels

A strengthening El Niño could intensify to a very strong or super level, potentially bringing record sea levels, coastal flooding, and beach erosion to California this winter. Forecasters warn peak impacts may occur from late December through March, with water levels rising higher than those seen in recent years; residents in high-risk areas should consider flood insurance as models remain uncertain and subject to change.

via ABC7 Bay Area|

#california-coast #coastal-erosion #el-nino

science-and-environment1 month ago•6 min saved

Winter Warmth Triggers Ice-Free West Antarctica and Rising Sea-Level Fears

The article argues that a mid-winter heatwave left a large portion of West Antarctica ice-free, an unprecedented condition that scientists reportedly link to a possible irreversible collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and several metres of potential sea-level rise. It weaves satellite observations, past indicators like Antarctic sea-ice decline, rapid glacier retreat, and new methane seeps with warnings about record CO2 emissions, portraying the climate system as changing faster than models predicted and stressing the need for urgent action.

via Countercurrents|

#antarctica #climate-change #co2-emissions

environment1 month ago•6 min saved

Winter Ice Vanishes in West Antarctica, Alarm Bells for the Ice Sheet

A mid-winter heatwave in West Antarctica left a large area ice-free where it should be frozen, with refreezing failing after decades of habit. The piece links this anomaly to a possible rapid West Antarctic Ice Sheet destabilization and potential sea level rise, all set against record atmospheric CO2 levels and broader climate signals (glacier retreats, methane seepage, and warnings from scientists since 2024) that climate models have struggled to predict. The author stresses the urgency of cutting fossil-fuel emissions to avert worsening impacts.

via CounterPunch.org|

#antarctica #climate-change #co2-emissions

science-and-environment1 month ago•14 min saved

Deep-ocean turbulence could accelerate climate change within a lifetime

A Nature Communications study finds that tiny deep-ocean turbulence rapidly distributes heat, nutrients and carbon, influencing sea level rise and fisheries on decadal scales—far faster than current climate models capture. By tracing chlorofluorocarbons, researchers show deep waters move heat and carbon around on timescales relevant to human life, underscoring gaps in climate projections and the need for improved understanding and monitoring of small-scale ocean mixing to inform policy.

via Oceanographic Magazine|

#carbon-cycle #climate-change #deep-ocean-turbulence

science1 month ago•10 min saved

Tiny deep-sea turbulence can swing global climate in a year

New study shows micro-scale turbulence deep in the ocean can affect surface climate on year-long timescales by altering how heat, carbon and nutrients move between the ocean and atmosphere. Tracer work with CFCs and dye experiments reveal faster-than-expected vertical transport, which is currently underestimated by climate models due to simplistic parameterizations. The finding implies climate projections and sea-level rise forecasts could improve with updated representations of deep-ocean mixing and continued, enhanced observations.

via The Conversation|

#climate-models #deep-ocean-turbulence #heat-and-carbon-transfer

science2 months ago•3 min saved

Lost Undersea Probe Reveals Antarctic Ice Secrets

A 20-foot orange autonomous underwater vehicle named Ran explored the underside of West Antarctica's Dotson Ice Shelf in 2022, revealing a complex ice topography with terraces, channels, and teardrop pits unseen by satellites; when researchers returned in 2024 to monitor movement, Ran vanished without a trace, leaving researchers unsure of the cause but with valuable mapping data that show how warming Circumpolar Deep Water melts the shelf and could influence future sea-level rise.

via SlashGear|

#antarctica #dotson-ice-shelf #oceanography

science2 months ago•11 min saved

Tiny ocean warming could trigger irreversible West Antarctic collapse

A modelling study suggests the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could begin an irreversible collapse with as little as 0–0.25°C more warming at depth, after which the process would be self-propagating and could push global sea levels up by about four metres over centuries—continuing even if warming ceases; the result is not consensus but highlights a fast trigger and long-lasting coastal risks, particularly around the Amundsen Sea region.

via Space Daily|

#marine-ice-sheet-instability #ocean-warming #science

environment2 months ago•2 min saved

North Atlantic Cold Blob Signals Slower Ocean Conveyor

Scientists link a persistent cooling anomaly south of Greenland—the North Atlantic 'cold blob'—to a slowdown in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). A weaker AMOC could reduce the ocean's heat transport, shifting weather, storm tracks, and potentially accelerating sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast, with the strongest impacts near Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe.

via USA Today|

#amoc #cold-blob #environment

environment2 months ago•4 min saved

France-sized gap opens in West Antarctica’s winter sea ice as temperatures spike

A France-sized area of winter sea ice is missing from Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea, about 650,000 sq km below the 1991–2020 average. The loss coincides with extreme warmth on the Antarctic Peninsula (temps up to 15.4C, far above the norm) and is linked to ocean warming. The ice deficit threatens krill habitat, penguin breeding, and could hasten glacier melt and future sea-level rise, especially near Pine Island and Thwaites.

via The Guardian|

#antarctica #climate-change #environment

science2 months ago•7 min saved

Ancient Coasts, Living Memory: Aboriginal Stories as Clues to Post-Ice Age Seas

Some Australian Aboriginal stories may describe coastlines flooded as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age (roughly 7,000–13,000 years ago). Researchers calculate when the land could have looked that way by matching the minimum water depth required for the stories to be literally true with known sea‑level rise, yielding dates around 7,250–13,070 years ago. While this could make these among the oldest reliably dated oral traditions, many scholars caution that oral memories are hard to verify over millennia, and the evidence rests on interpreting secondhand accounts written down by colonial observers. Proponents argue that shared motifs across regions and a storytelling system with cross-checking could preserve accurate details, but the claim remains contested and not proven.

via Space Daily|

#aboriginal-knowledge #archaeology #coastlines