The local variation is attributed to numerous factors, including prevailing weather patterns, the geological make-up of different coastal areas, and temporal weather events such as storms and hurricanes. This is due to the convergence of tectonic plates and shifting glaciers which are leading to an inverse phenomenon, land emergence. While sea level rise slowed in the West Coast up to 2013, the VIMS team has identified a recent upwards trend – becoming increasingly steep – which they predict will continue to increase in the next few decades.Īgainst this trend, Alaska’s coastline is actually advancing. The researchers at VIMS has identified different rates of rising sea levels in 32 coastal areas around the 20,000 km of US continental and Alaskan coastlines.Ĭommunities on the Gulf and East Coasts of the US are predicted to experience the worst effects of sea level rise, with rises of 50 cm and higher in these coastal areas expected by 2050. Warnings of Rising Sea Levels for US Coastal AreasĮxperts at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) recently reported that the US coastline is experiencing sharply rising sea levels, and their models predict that levels will continue to increase. This article discusses the causes and effects of sea level rise in the US in particular, and responses to it, ranging from protecting coastal areas to reducing global warming and climate change.

The coastline of the United States (US) is retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate – and this is predicted to increase.

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