Sea level rose more rapidly during the 20th century than during any of the previous 27 centuries, and humans bear the lion’s share of the responsibility for that rise.
That’s just one of the sobering takeaways from the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Climate Science Special Report (CSSR), released today, but leaked to the New York Times in August. Billed as Volume 1 of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA), the CSSR captures the state of sea level rise science and its implications for the coasts of our country.
Here are six noteworthy findings from the sea level rise section of the CSSR:
1. People are responsible for 80% of the sea level rise since 1970
The first key finding in the CSSR’s sea level rise chapter contains a bold statement that is backed up in the chapter’s main text: “Human-caused climate change has made a substantial contribution to [global mean sea level rise] since 1900 … contributing to a rate of rise that is greater than during any preceding century in at least 2,800 years…”
This finding is based on eight independent studies published in the last three years that aim to quantify the human contribution to sea level rise […]
Full article: Fast and Getting Faster: The Verdict on Sea Level Rise from the Latest National Climate Assessment
More about sea-level rise, coastal flooding and more:
From Atlantic City to Key West: 21 beach towns that will soon be under water
Three newspapers confront one challenge: Sea-level rise is real
Water World: Sea Level Rise, Coastal Floods and Storm Surges
Satellite Snafu Masked True Sea Level Rise for Decades
The lesser-known threat from sea-level rise? Saltwater intrusion into Florida’s freshwater wells.
‘Sunny day flooding’ worsens at NC beaches — a sign sea rise is decades too soon
