How can rising sea level's be a problem?

Question

As it is only 2 mm / year and has remained the same for decades and no evidence of an increase

Answer 1

Hi David,

This is what the WWF thinks on the matter, I have to say, I share their concern as the levels are starting increasing significantly:

"It is projected that global warming will cause sea levels to rise by as much as 5 mm per year over the next 100 years. Rising sea levels threaten entire nations on low-lying islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

As temperatures rise, seas will absorb more heat from the atmosphere, causing them to expand and rise. Ice sheets, such as those in Greenland and on Antarctica, and land glaciers will also continue to melt and further increase the level of the seas.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), by 2080 sea level could rise from 9 to 48 cm in a ‘Low Emissions Scenario’ and from 16 to 69 cm in a ‘High Emissions Scenario’.

Several Pacific island states are threatened with total disappearance and 2 uninhabited islands in the Kiribati chain have already disappeared due to sea level rise.

The people of Funafti in Tuvalu and on Kiribati island are lobbying to find new homes: salt water intrusion has made groundwater undrinkable and these islands are suffering increasing impacts from hurricanes and heavy seas. In the village of Saoluafata in Samoa, villagers have noticed that their coastline has retreated by as much as 50 metres in the last decade. Many of these people have had to move further inland as a result.

Coastal areas around the world will also be threatened by rising sea levels. This will not only affect agricultural areas around the coast but also cities – 13 of the 15 largest cities in the world are on coastal plains. The IPCC confirms that sea level rise is already affecting coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves and salt-marshes.

A third of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge marshland on Chesapeake Bay, United States, has disappeared since 1938 and the rest of the marsh, which provides winter habitat for many waterfowl species, is expected to be flooded within 25 years. While half the existing loss is thought to be due to extraction from aquifers, the remainder is believed to be due to sea level rise.

In Waccasassa Bay State Preserve in Florida, researchers concluded that cabbage palms and other trees are falling victim to saltwater exposure tied to global sea level rise, exacerbated by drought and a reduction of freshwater flow. Rising seas are said to have flooded 7,500 ha of mangroves in the Sundarbans National Park of Bangladesh, although sea-level rise is aggravated by subsidence in the delta.

In Vietnam, mangroves are reported to be undergoing species change because of increased salt intrusion, including those in Dao Bach Long Vi, a proposed marine protected area.

The Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is one of the remotest places in India: the vast area of seasonal salt lakes supports huge populations of flamingos and is the only remaining habitat for 2,000 Indian wild asses. The area is likely to become inundated by the sea, thus destroying the habitat and threatening the Wild *** Sanctuary and the Kachchh Desert Sanctuary."

Answer 2

Increasing sea levels, theoretically would be a problem. This is why.

As the sea levels on earth rise, that means that more land is being submerged, already now our planet is covered much more in water then in land. Of course land lays beneath that water.

Ice is the primary facilitator of this rise in the sea level. The Suns rays are 90% reflected by the ice (any large ice mass on earth) and 10% absorbed, and water in liquid form is the opposite, with 90% absorbed and 10% reflected. As the water around ice increases in temperature it causes ice to melt, and as a result increasing water levels. So the more water in the world the more heat our planet absorbs.

This can be a problem for arid regions, even well inland of the coast, and really entire continents like Africa. Where drought and lack of humidity can lead to a low amount of rain, and as a result a desertification of the land.

This question is a primary component of why Global Warming could potentially be species threatening to a great many animals, not including ourselves eventually.

Answer 3

I've personally worked on designing a desalination plant and there are a number of reasons why they are not preferred. The biggest issue is energy consumption. As simple as it sounds, most desalination plants use the method of evaporation of salt water (salt doesn't evaporate with the water). The water is converted to fresh-water steam which is cooled and collected. Imagine how much water is used by a typical city. The main water lines into cities carry enormous amounts of water that would have to be evaporated. It's not like it's not possible, it's just very expensive to build, maintain and operate. Another big issue is sanitation. Lakes and wells are preferred because their feeder rivers can be controlled. Compared to the ocean where many areas still dump large amounts of raw sewage. Could you imagine drinking out of something mixed with water from Boston Harbour, Halifax Harbour or the Nile River? Again, not that it can't be done, it just makes you appreciate how simple a lake or a well is in comparison.

Answer 4

Rising sea levels could mean 1 of 2 things.

#1 - The Earth is getting hotter, and ice caps are melting. This would suck. Hurricanes and such are fueled by warm water. The warmer the Earth + the more Water = Pretty crappy weather and not as much room to 'run'.

#2 - It could also mean that somehow, land is 'falling'. Just because it appears like the Sea is rising, maybe there's just something going on UNDER the earth, causing the land to decay? Maybe even shrinking mother earth in the process?

Either way it's a problem, maybe not for you, but for Humanity

Answer 5

not only will we loose shorlines and the tides going out of wack. also the water going into the ocean that causes the rising waters is fresh water. which will kill off a lot of the salt water creatures and phytoplanktion which is one of the oceans biggest food sources and also absorbs a lot of carbon which helps with the overproduction of carbon which enduces global warming and turns the ocean to acid.

Answer 6

i have to agree. I lived on the beach for most of my life, and we were told some 20 odd years ago in school, that my house would be under water by this year, because of global warming, and the beach, and where the tide comes up to hasn't changed. so much for flodding of lowlands!

Answer 7

It's only in the hands of Al Gore who says 20 feet in 32 years...Of course that has about 29 if's in front of his "facts".

Answer 8

If its a problem that could not be solved, then waste your brain cells?

Answer 9

More land will be sunk