Sea level rise on the east coast of the USA is the fastest in 2,000 years

A new study led by Rutgers University and published in the journal Nature Communications on 23 March 2021 found that “global sea level rise from melting ice and warming oceans from 1900 to 2000 resulting in a rate that is more than twice the average for the years 0 to 1800 – the most significant change. “Using new methods and focusing on six specific locations in the East (in Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey and North Carolina), researchers were able to look at the dynamics. Contribute to a change in sea level in the last 2,000 years.To make this assessment, the researchers have, for the first time, used a “sea level budget” in determining the level whose ocean rises over a long period of time.

On August 2, 2004, flood peaks were the highest ever recorded at six USGS stream capture stations in Burlington and Camden NJ Counties.

USGS

Balancing the sea level budget

By having a budget at sea level, we will develop our understanding of the processes that drive change at sea level. A sea level budget monitors sea level change over time at global, regional and local levels. These scales can reveal various factors that contribute to rising water levels, or in some cases falling levels. By measuring the temperature, salinity, mass and altitude of the ocean surface, the relative sources of recent sea level rise can be seen. With these observations, change in sea level is confirmed in terms of the total sea level and its two main components, sea mass and steric sea level (related to density). The sea level budget is closed when the sum of the independent parts agrees with the overall sea level measurement, indicating that the observations can be used to explain the causes of sea level change. So you can see why a budget could be so effective in determining the impact of global warming. “If you want to find out what is driving sea level change, this budget approach is a way to break down these individual components,” said Jennifer Walker, lead author of this study and postdoctoral research at Rutgers University, according to Science Daily. “By learning how different processes change over time and contribute to sea level change, we can more accurately estimate future contributions at specific sites. “And the researchers’ findings are that the rising rates in the six specific locations did not cause any falls in the study period.” The sinking of regional (underground) land was the a key part of sea level change over these long timescales, “Walker explained.

Proxy sea level tables in the Common Era sea level database, where newly updated sites from Kemp et al.16 are shown in red.

Walker, JS, Kopp, RE, Shaw, TA et al.

South New Jersey has the fastest rates

Southern New Jersey had the fastest rates over the 2,000-year period: 1.6 millimeters per year (approximately 0.63 inches per decade) at Edwin Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Leeds Point, Atlantic County and 1.5 millimeters per year (approximately 0.6 inches per decade) at Cape May Courthouse, Cape May County. The New Jersey underground is the result of the lasting effects of the withdrawal of “Laurentide ice sheet from our last Ice Age,” Walker told CNN. “The ice sheet disappeared thousands of years ago, and the terrain is still changing from the impact of the past leaf.” Other factors are also involved, including changing ocean currents and extracting groundwater. “Raising sea level rise in the east coast of the U.S. is due to a slowing Gulf Stream,” said Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, which part of the study. Other sites included in the study were East River Bog in Guilford, Connecticut; Pelham Bay, The Bronx, New York City; Cheesequake State Park in Old Bridge, New Jersey; and Roanoke Island in North Carolina.