New Meaning Given to Deepwater Horizon

Harvard at about 120 ft.

Harvard at about 12 ft.

Here are some projected views of several locations in the U.S.

Their purpose is to illustrate what those locations would look like with both a twelve foot as well as about a hundred and twenty foot sea level rise.

The Dredd Blog has had some posts about sea level rise as a result of ice caps melting in different locations of the Earth's polar regions --regions that can be distinguished from one another, in terms of quantity of ice.

The posts include a table of locations with sea level rise projections, in feet, should that distinct area or ice cap melt (Will This Float Your Boat - 4).

The maximum sea level rise shown in that table is over twice the 120 feet sea level rise shown here, which is 263.5 feet if all ice caps and glaciers around the world melt (ibid).

Boston Harbor Hotel - 120 ft.

Boston Harbor Hotel - 12 ft.

The name Deepwater Horizon has a nuanced meaning in the sense that using fossil fuels will eventually bring deep water into cities along coasts, and change their horizons.

Ocean Drive - 120 ft.

Ocean Drive - 12 ft.

Along with that is species depletion and human health problems (Gulf of Mexico Still Suffering).

Jefferson Monument - 120 ft.

Jefferson Monument - 12 ft.

None of this adds up to be something anyone wants (Terrifying Global Warming Math).


(Click on the caption at the bottom of any of the 12 ft. sea level rise photos for a link to a larger view and for other information about these photo depictions.

The 120 feet sea level rise depictions are for emphasis and are estimates.)

Another thing that should be remembered is that even the 12 ft. projections will be exacerbated by storm surges, regular floods, and winds.

Venice Beach - 120 ft.

Venice Beach - 12 ft.

Also water will go further inland in porous soils, and will damage flora miles further inland in some cases.

That is already happening in the Carolinas: "We’ve got the highest rate of sea level rise on the East Coast,” said Skip Stiles, executive director, Wetlands Watch, who will be making a presentation on the historic, current and future sea level changes and potential impact on the Eastern Shore.

Stiles said some of the evidence of sea level rise visible to people who spend time around the water include seeing wetlands disappear, ditches going tidal, backyard vegetation changes, and “ghost forests” — full grown trees that are dead along the shore because the water is “moving in underneath them.”
...
Stiles said all of the Virginia tide gage measurements are showing about the same rise of a foot and a half over the last 100 years." (Social Dementia Causes Heated Misunderestimations - 2, emphasis in original).

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Senator Inhofe gives new power to denialism: