Rising sea levels are starting to cover more land along the coast of the United States, causing towns to sink into the ground.
Nature magazine released a paper saying that 32 cities along the coast of the United States could flood by 2050. These towns are subsiding, which means they are sinking, and this could affect more than 250,000 people.
Boston, San Francisco, and New Orleans are just a few of the bigger towns that might be flooded. A rising sea level and changes in land elevation will mostly cause it. Every year, the sea level will rise 4 millimeters.
How the rising sea level affects land will depend on how high it was to begin with. For example, California’s mountains won’t be as likely to flood as lower-lying places. Some places are also sinking while the sea level is rising, which means that these places are very likely to flood soon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that nearly 40% of people live near the coast. This means that these changes would have an impact on a lot of people. Some places, like Miami, can be hit hard by climate change because they already have “sunny day flooding” from high tides.
Researchers say that we already have a number of tools that can be used to control land sinking. One way to help with this would be to build sea walls, raise homes above the rising water to lift them and refill groundwater sources.
“What happens on the land really, really affects us,” said Leonard Ohenhen, who is working on his PhD and studies how coastal areas are vulnerable and land sinks. He told the story that these changes will definitely have an impact on our lives, especially those who live near the coast.
