2024 sea level 'report cards' map futures of U.S. coastal communities
a year ago
- #coastal-planning
- #climate-change
- #sea-level-rise
- William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS released 2024 U.S. sea level 'report cards' for 36 coastal communities.
- The report cards analyze 55 years of historical data, providing sea level rise rates, acceleration, and 2050 water level forecasts.
- New interactive dashboard includes data from tide gauge stations in Annapolis, Solomons Island, Yorktown, and Fort Myers.
- Regional sea level trends vary due to geological uplift, land subsidence, ocean currents, and other processes.
- Reports use observed tide gauge data (not satellite models) to reflect local conditions, aiding actionable planning.
- Locations are grouped into East Coast, Gulf Coast, West Coast, and Alaskan Coast regions.
- Report cards include monthly averages, storm-driven high/low water levels, and decadal climate signals (e.g., El Niño).
- Projections account for acceleration and show 95% confidence intervals for worst-case scenarios like storm surges.
- Most locations show accelerating sea level rise, with fastest rates in Gulf states (Texas, Louisiana).
- New acceleration trends observed in southeastern states (South Carolina, Georgia), possibly linked to Greenland ice melt.
- West Coast sea levels remain stable, contradicting past rapid-rise predictions.
- Report cards, launched in 2018, track trends since a 2013-2014 acceleration spike identified in a prior study.