Climate Impacts - Impacts For People, Sea Level Rise

To-Do Date: Apr 26 at 9:30am

 

Study Guide Questions

2. What impacts are there from rising sea levels?

    • What are two reasons that climate change cause sea levels to rise?
    • How much could sea level rise in coming decades? By the end of the century? ( There are different numbers in different videos. This is due to the fact that it will rise different amounts in different  locations, so they often use average).
    • What are the different options that are being taken to react to sea level rise? In large wealthy cities, poorer communities, and the most marginalized? 

Sea Level Rise 

Due to melting glaciers and thermal expansion, sea levels will rise globally, in some areas more than others. In addition, some locations are more vulnerable to sea level rise than other locations. Watch these videos and take the mini-quiz. 

 

Local Impacts

    • Bay Area Tides Mapper: There is an online resource that allows you to look at the greater Bay Area and see how much land would be impacted by sea level rise of between 12" and 108."  Take a few minutes and explore the Bay Area Adapting To Rising Tides mapper Links to an external site..
    • Under Scenario select 48 inches of sea level rise, then click on ''consequences tab'' and click t hrough the different impacts ( roads, transportation, vulnerable communities, housing, etc)  Which areas of the Bay are most affected by rising sea level?
    • For insight into the local impacts of sea level rise in Sonoma County, read the KQED article North Bay's Highway 37 Is Going to Be a Serious Climate Mess, Links to an external site. to see an example of the predicted local Sonoma County impacts of sea level rise.   

A fabulous resource on sea level rise in the greater Bay Area is available in the optional resources below, as is a great article on flooding in the southeast.  Their length made it not suitable for adding to this unit, but I highly recommend either or both if you have the time.  

 

Impacts on Island Nations

Some of the strongest impacts of sea level rise will be on island nations, with the potential for whole islands, and in some cases, whole nations to become submerged.  Watch the short video below to see how people are coping with sea level rise on one island in the Philippines.

 

 

Optional Resource