wired com
Newsletter
Credit: Four Oaks/Big Stock Photo
Cities at risk as sea levels rise and land sinks
Coastal cities are facing a dual threat: rising sea levels and the sinking of their land, a phenomenon known as subsidence, which could drastically increase flooding and damages by 2050.
In short:
- An extensive study in Nature reveals that subsidence could cause 500 to 700 square miles of additional U.S. coastal land to flood by 2050, affecting hundreds of thousands more people.
- Coastal cities are sinking at alarming rates, with 24 of the 32 studied cities subsiding more than 2 millimeters a year, doubling the risk of flooding.
- Current coastal defense strategies are inadequate, underestimating the urgency needed to address this compounded risk of sea-level rise and land subsidence.
Key quote:
"The combination of both the land sinking and the sea rising leads to this compounding effect of exposure for people."
— Leonard Ohenhen, environmental security expert at Virginia Tech.
Why this matters:
This phenomenon has profound implications for public health and safety, especially in underserved communities lacking the resources to adapt. Understanding and addressing both sea-level rise and subsidence is essential for future urban planning and disaster preparedness, illustrating the intertwined challenges of climate change and urbanization.
Scientists probe ancient history of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and find unsettling news about sea level rise.
Keep reading...Show less
David Martínez Vicente/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Everyone was wrong about reverse osmosis—until now
A new paper showing how water actually travels through a plastic membrane could make desalination more efficient. That’s good news for a thirsty world.
BLM Nevada/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Geothermal everywhere: finding the energy to save the world
Jamie Beard is pouring everything into a singular vision: Tap into the awesome potential of geothermal power in Texas, and beyond. She has no time to lose.
Chic Bee/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Rights to use this image granted by publisher:
No, fusion energy won’t be ‘limitless’
Scientific advances have renewed hopes of “unlimited energy,” while economic studies suggest that fusion power will be more costly than wind or solar.
Top Story
NPS Climate Change Respo/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowed
A toxic time bomb is ticking in the Arctic
Thousands of contaminated sites are sitting on permafrost that'll soon thaw, a looming disaster that could spread beyond the region.
Top Story
John Englart/Flickr
The food system is awful for the climate. It doesn’t have to be
New modeling estimates that food production could add a degree Celsius to global warming. But it also points to powerful ways to make diets more sustainable.
Top Story
Ariel Waldman/flickr
A robot finds more trouble under the doomsday glacier
Underneath thousands of feet of Thwaites Glacier’s solid ice, a bot filmed peculiar features, where melting is much faster. It’s an ominous sign for rising sea levels.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE
