NOAA report finds sea level is rising — and faster than expected
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In North Carolina, the worries about climate change often focus on more frequent storms with heavier rainfall, but a new federal report points to an equally potent danger — the seeping effect of sea level rise.
The report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association as part of a multiagency project shows that sea levels along U.S. coastlines will rise, on average, by as much as a foot over the next 30 years — equal to the rise measured over the last century.
Rick Luettich, a UNC marine science professor who heads the Center for Natural Hazards Resilience, said the projection for 2050 “isn’t radically different than it was 10 years ago,” but “there is a lot of clarity to these numbers now.”
That means sea level change isn’t a case of scientists speculating on what might happen given various scenarios. The change is here and accelerating.
“This new report says this is real now, and it’s going to be significant much earlier than 2100,” said Luettich.
The most noticeable effect will be more coastal flooding, even without storms. NOAA said in a summary of the report’s findings: “Sea level rise will create a profound shift in coastal flooding over the next 30 years by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland. By 2050, ‘moderate’ (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today, and can be intensified by local factors.”
Flooding related to sea level rise will be more extensive in North Carolina because of its low coastal plain. As seawater seeps further inland, it will render land unusable for agriculture, impair fresh water sources and disrupt the effectiveness of septic systems.
“Salt water intrusion is a major concern for the viability of coastal areas for agriculture and septic function is much less viable if the water table rises,” Luettich said. “That’s the hidden consequence.”