It’s no secret that sea levels have been slowly rising for a long time—at an average of about 3mm per year, if you want to know. But so far, major ice structures have remained intact in the frozen lands of the poles. Until now. Scientists have confirmed their long-standing fear that the West Antarctic ice sheet—a vast swatch of ice in the South Pole—is officially melting. And now that it’s begun its thaw, there’s no stopping it. That means a gradual 10-foot rise in sea levels is likely on the way.
Two different teams of scientists have reported the ice sheet’s accelerating collapse, which is almost certainly occurring due to warmer waters. Global warming, you scoundrel, you’ve done it again.
So what does an extra 10 feet of ocean water height do? A whole lot of mischief.
According to Climate Central research, in just the U.S. alone, more than half the area of 40 large coastal cities is within the dare-we-say-doomed 10-foot high-tide line. Unfortunate municipalities include Virginia Beach; New Orleans (they’ve just about recovered from Katrina, right?); Boston; Stockton, California; Hoboken, New Jersey; and Miami. In fact, Florida has it the worst statewide, with 27 cities that could be affected. But all of New England also faces significant risk, and New York City is the winner of most people living on flood-potential land, with more than 700,000 in low-lying areas. (Silver lining: rent is sure to drop!)
And while some of these cities have levee systems or the possibility of seawalls that could help stay the hostile sea, some sit on bedrock and other materials not suited for such measures. And needless to say, plenty of other countries will have it much worse.
But the good(ish) news is that the melting will likely take place over a few hundred years. So we have plenty of time to anticipate coastal city decimation and/or take preventative measures where possible. And hey, if the movie The Day After Tomorrow has things pegged correctly, global warming will mystically usher in a new ice age, which would solve our little melting problem.
In the more likely scenario that the U.S. doesn’t suddenly turn subarctic wasteland terrorized by wolves, Climate Central points out that the melting ice sheet likely means “unrelenting centuries of defense, retreat, and reimagination of life along our coasts.” Start planning, humanoids.
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