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Author
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Topic: Coastal NASA facilities and rising water levels
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-05-2016 10:58 AM
   
John Schwartz with The New York Times writes about the prospect of rising water levels and their effect on NASA's coastal centers and facilities. About two-thirds of the land that NASA manages is within 16 feet of mean sea level, and much of it is near the coasts. "We are tremendously linked to the drink," Mr. Toufectis said....the agency's Climate Adaptation Science Investigators working group, which evaluates risks for all federal agencies, has predicted that sea level rise of five inches to more than two feet by 2050 could cause widespread problems for the five coastal NASA sites. Coastal floods that might now occur once every 10 years could happen twice as often at Johnson, twice to three times as often at Kennedy and 10 times more often at Ames. "NASA coastal centers that are already at risk of flooding are virtually certain to become more vulnerable in the future," the working group wrote in a 2014 report. |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 04-05-2016 02:28 PM
Watching the new show "What on Earth?" on the Science Channel recently it was stated that the ocean level has been rising at most one inch per decade. That would make this article's premise rather outlandish speculation. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-05-2016 02:38 PM
I don't doubt the show was trying to present an accurate reflection of the current research, but it was most certainly produced prior to last week's report about the potential pace at which the Antartica ice sheet is melting.But regardless of the rate at which water levels are rising, if we have the resources to make changes now, we should. The time to act is before it becomes necessary we do so. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 04-05-2016 03:10 PM
Knowing the predilection in Washington among some people to dismiss anything coming out of NOAA and NASA that suggests any hint of global warming or climate change, it wouldn't surprise me if they drag their feet on any preventive measures. Or at least until they see a polar bear floating on some driftwood down Chesapeake Bay.  |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 04-05-2016 03:17 PM
The thing with sea level rise is that there is not a 1:1 ratio between that and coastal erosion. It depends on the specific geography, as well as a given area's exposure to strong storm surges and other factors. But as a general rule of thumb, the ratio of coastal erosion to sea level rise is 10:1 or more (100:1 or even 200:1). In other words, 1 cm of sea level rise typically leads to 10 to 100 cm of coastal erosion.This is well-established science and not at all controversial.
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