When we see records being broken and unprecedented events such as this, the onus is on those who deny any connection to climate change to prove their case. Global warming has fundamentally altered the background conditions that give rise to all weather. In the strictest sense, all weather is now connected to climate change. Kevin Trenberth
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Coastal Flooding More Frequent In U.S. Due To Sea Level Rise And Sinking Land, Study Finds
by Ryan McNeill, Reuters, Huffington Post, July 28, 2014 Flooding is increasing in frequency along much of the U.S. coast, and
the rate of increase is accelerating along the Gulf of Mexico and
Atlantic coasts, a team of federal government scientists found in a
study released Monday. The study examined how
often 45 tide gauges along the country's shore exceeded National
Weather Service flood thresholds across several decades. The
researchers found that the frequency of flooding increased at 41
locations. Moreover, they found that the rate of increase was
accelerating at 28 of those locations. The highest rates of increase
were concentrated along the mid-Atlantic coast. "We
stress that in many areas, the frequency of nuisance flooding is
already on an accelerating trajectory, and many other locations will
soon follow" if trends in rising sea levels continue, the scientists
wrote. The thresholds are usually associated with
minor flooding, also called nuisance flooding, which can overwhelm
drainage systems, cause road closures and damage infrastructure not
built to withstand frequent flooding or exposure to salt water. Such
flooding is one of the more recognizable effects of rising seas, as
opposed to less frequent but more damaging extreme storms, such as
hurricanes, the scientists said. In the 1950s,
nuisance flooding occurred once every one to five years, the study
found. By 2012, the frequency had increased to about once every three
months at most NOAA gauges. These storms "are no
longer really extreme," said William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer and
lead author of the study. "It takes a lesser storm to inundate similar
(elevations)." The study is the latest to examine
whether minor flooding is increasing as seas rise. Reuters published
the results of its own independent analysis earlier this month that
found that the number of days a year that tidal waters reached or
exceeded flood thresholds more than tripled in many places. Another
study, by Old Dominion University researchers Tal Ezer and Larry
Atkinson, found that the U.S. East Coast is "a hotspot of accelerated
flooding." They also found that flooding outside of storm events has
increased in frequency and duration. The results of their study are
expected to be published later this year. Among the NOAA study's findings: *The
northeast Atlantic coast experienced a "significant increase" in
nuisance flooding, largely because of the combination of rising sea
levels and subsidence, whereby land sinks due to geological forces and
the extraction of groundwater. *In the southeast Atlantic, five of eight gauges "are now on an accelerating nuisance flood frequency trajectory." *Four of the eight gauges on the Gulf coast showed accelerating increases in minor flooding. Such
flooding events "are only going to become more noticeable and much
more severe in the coming decades" as the seas continue to rise, Sweet
said. The scientists warned in their report that
coastal communities may face a "time horizon" when public and private
infrastructure "will become increasingly compromised by tidal
flooding." That time is dependent on how fast seas rise -- something
scientists can't predict. "When that day comes,
these impacts are going to be accelerated," Sweet said, "and that's
going to spell all sorts of issues for communities when it comes to
adaptation and resilience." (Edited by John Blanton) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/28/coastal-flooding-more-frequent_n_5627110.html
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