Climate Model Predicts Greater Melting, Submerged Cities
From this month’s Scientific American: Climate Model Predicts Greater Melting, Submerged Cities
Over the past 30 years, temperatures in the Arctic have been creeping up, rising half a degree Celsius with attendant increases in glacial melting and decreases in sea ice. Experts predict that at current levels of greenhouse gases–carbon dioxide alone is at 375 parts per million–the earth may warm by as much as five degrees Celsius, matching conditions roughly 130,000 years ago. Now a refined climate model is predicting, among other things, sea level rises of as much as 20 feet, according to research results published today in the journal Science.Such a sea level rise would permanently inundate low-lying lands like New Orleans, southern Florida, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Hey! I live in the Netherlands. If there is one thing the Dutch know about it’s keeping the rising waters at bay. In 1953 the famous Dutch Dykes were breached by massive storms and most of the country flooded. (see article with photos). Since then the Government has spent a fortune building massive coastal barriers to prevent a reoccurance. But:
In 1993 and 1995 there were two new flood emergencies in the Netherlands. There were no fatalities, but the economic damage was enormous. This time the flooding came not from the sea but from the rivers. In 1995, meltwater from the mountainous heartland of Europe and extremely heavy rainfall downstream combined to burst the banks of the Rhine and the Maas and more than 250,000 people had to be evacuated.
What’s that they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men? - DS
Technorati Tags: Arctic, climate change, CO2, eco, environment, glaciers, global warming, Holland, meltdown, modelling, sea level, The Netherlands, weather
