Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

'The coastal sea levels along the Northeast Coast of North America show significant year-to-year fluctuations in a general upward trend. The analysis of long-term tide gauge records identified an extreme sea-level rise (SLR) event during 2009–10. Within this 2-year period, the coastal sea level north of New York City jumped by 128 mm. This magnitude of interannual SLR is unprecedented (a 1-in-850 year event) during the entire history of the tide gauge records. Here we show that this extreme SLR event is a combined effect of two factors: an observed 30% downturn of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during 2009–10, and a significant negative North Atlantic Oscillation index. The extreme nature of the 2009–10 SLR event suggests that such a significant downturn of the Atlantic overturning circulation is very unusual. During the twenty-first century, climate models project an increase in magnitude and frequency of extreme interannual SLR events along this densely populated coast.'

 'An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010' by Paul B. Goddard, Jianjun Yin, Stephen M. Griffies & Shaoqing Zhang in Nature Communications, 6

[Coverage of the article on the BBC and on Phys.org]

Bradwell Juxta Mare

Troubled Coastlines - From Louisiana To Maine

A great two-parter podcast from Sea Change Radio featuring interviews with  journalist Bob Marshall and former Maine State Representative Seth Berry (Part 1, Part 2).

In Part 1 there's also a link to Losing Ground by Bob Marshall, a fascinating interactive article on Louisiana’s imperiled shores.

Sea Level Change Adaptation Strategy

ht to Ran Prieur for the link to this curious 'Sea Level Change Adaptation Strategy' by David of the blog Plants and Architecture.

On the basis that forecast sea level rise due to climate change will drown his home US State of Florida he proposes - now - building mounds planted with food forests to create an archipelago network of islands for future generations to enjoy.

Rising Sea Levels

We don’t have to look 85 years into the future to see what a sinking world looks like: 'Rising Sea Levels Are Already Making Miami's Floods Worse' in Wired magazine.

'Based on what scientists can glean from sea level data from the past 20,000 years, [University of Miami's Department of Atmospheric Sciences researcher Brian] McNoldy estimates that the world could still have up to 100 feet of sea level rise to go. He believes even if humans were to slow down or stop the man-made factors contributing to climate change, "we're already pretty well committed to significant sea level rise. We would be more prudent to consider how to adapt to those conditions.'

Beyond the Thames Barrier

The Guardian on 'Beyond the Thames Barrier: how safe is London from another major flood?'.

'The planners have put mitigating the effects of climate change at centre stage. They expect it to produce raised average sea levels, surge tide levels and wave heights in the coming decades, albeit by less than previously thought. Meanwhile, land levels in the south-east of England are falling – only by about 1.5mm a year, but over the course of a century it all adds up. In addition, development along the river’s banks is slowly invading its space, leaving less room within which its waters can expand.'