Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Miami sea level rise goes exponential

In Miami, the sea level has risen 9 inches in 100 years.  Half of this happened within the past 16 years and a third in the past 5 years.

From 1914 through 1998, sea levels rose by an average of 0.06 inches per year — a rate that was barely noticeable to residents and city planners alike. But from 1998 to 2009 the pace increased to a more troubling 0.14 inches per year. And from 2009 to the present year the pace again jumped to a terrifying 0.67 inches per year. 

An exponential rate of sea level rise that, in the past year alone, raised Miami’s surrounding ocean waters by 0.86 inches. Should the observed sea level rise over recent years continue, Miami will be facing 6-9 feet of additional water by the end of this century and not the 3-4 feet currently predicted.

(Read more  here)

And of course, the rise won't continue at the current pace: it is likely to  accelerate.

Source 

Yet Floridians (especially, of course, Republicans) remain climate change skeptics.  What hope is there for the world?

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