back to article US East, West Coasts face fast-rising sea levels

Two new reports indicate that sea-level rise will put the hurt on both the East and West coasts of the US, and that if one of the West Coast's all-too-familiar major earthquakes should occur, things could get mighty dicey mighty fast. According to the US Geological Survey – hardly a hotbed of wild-eyed alarmists – the East …

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  1. The Axe
    WTF?

    Oooh look, a hockey stick

    Considering that the sea level has changed by a few inches over the last 160 years, for it to suddenly change by up to a foot in 20 years is just bonkers. Even if you take into account an earthquake, one so big that it'll have to be bigger than the one at Fukishama 'cause none of the past earthquakes have made any significant change in sea levels, it's still bonkers.

    To see what the graph with the raw figures looks like, follow this link - http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/san-francisco-sea-level-alarmist1.jpg?w=640

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oooh look, a hockey stick

      Data in "needs to be processed to reveal information" shocker. Or do you read the binary bitstream that arrives at your computer?

      1. Steve Crook

        Re: Oooh look, a hockey stick

        The graph data appears to stop ~1970. Last time I checked, it was 2012. Are we expected to believe that the data from 1970 to now is either missing or otherwise unavailable for analysis?

        Given how polarised the climate debate (that's assuming debate is the appropriate word to describe it) has become I'd have thought it might have been better to either show everything or just not bother. I know both sides like to make a point, but every time one group or other produces a graph like this, the other lot immediately cry foul and accuse them of cherry picking their data.

        1. BlueGreen

          Re: Oooh look, a hockey stick

          > The graph data appears to stop ~1970. Last time I checked, it was 2012. Are we expected to believe that the data from 1970 to now is either missing or otherwise unavailable for analysis?

          Very good point. I think the word is 'appears' as the caption itself straight under the diagram mentions 2009 (should have given you a clue) but I'm stuffed if I can work out what it *is* saying.

  2. Don Jefe
    Stop

    Cape Hatteres

    I've got a six bed four bath rental home on the Outer Banks near the Cape & I can say for certain that my shorline has decreased. It shouldn't take serious science to point out that the ocean is about to drown my house.

    1. Captain DaFt

      Re: Cape Hatteres

      That's in North Carolina, so you're in luck! Their legislators just passed a bill limiting sea levels in that state.

      (I'm not kidding; stating that NC sea levels will rise higher than the mandated level will get you fined!)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cape Hatteres

      That's been a known issue, but as a resident of Hampton Roads, I can point out there is more than one way to lose a coastline. Are you losing your shoreline to rising seas or to eroding sands?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Running AMOC

    Last time I heard of AMOK, when it moves south the climate in the Northern US and in Western Europe cools, and possibly cools a lot. In fact, AMOC was talked about as the strongest contender as prime mover for Ice Ages.

    Given that cold water from the Arctic melt-down (due to warm run-off from Siberia) is moving south too, is this the Mini-Ice-Age scenario in real time?

    We know that climate models used no real data for the Antarctic ice pack, per articles today in Geophysical Research, and perhaps we are a bit deficient in the Arctic ice-pack model too. Given the huge uncertainties that creates in the models, we are going to have a period of retrenchment in climate fortune-telling. I hope it is approached with an open mind, since a Mini-Ice-Age instead of a AGW toaster would really mess geopolitics etc up.

  4. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
    FAIL

    Cascadia sea level rise?

    That will be no rise, that will be a drop in land surface due to the stress relief.

    But dont worry, over the next 300 yrs after a 9.something in the area, the land will slowly rise out of the sea again....

  5. Xris M

    Isostatic movement of the continents due to loading and unloading occurs over timescales of thousands of years.

    Data from Topex and Jason have clearly shown a GMSL rise over the last 20 years (although not an acceleration) but local sea levels will be affected by both the eustatic thermal expansion due to changes in the oceans thermal vertical profile and geoidal-eustatic changes due to changes in ice masses.

    There are many different things going on and we can't yet model them all.

    1. itzman
      Happy

      but that wont stop us ..

      ...making alarming but very PROFITABLE predictions of doom, will it?

  6. scarshapedstar
    Headmaster

    Paging Lewis

    I can't wait to see his indignant 'debunking'.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Paging Lewis

      Sorry... he's busy advising the North Carolina General Assembly at the moment.

  7. Peter Murphy
    FAIL

    Fail - now available in smokeable form in glass pipes for your legislative pleasure!

    [Rates of sea-level rise] shall only be determined using historical data, and these data shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900. Rates of sea-level rise may be extrapolated linearly to estimate future rates of rise but shall not include scenarios of accelerated rates of sea-level rise.

    This is a good sign when great powers go down the drain. Legislators and scientists don't always see eye to eye, but when governments makes it illegal to state actual science, then that's another thing entirely. The behavior reminds me of another former great power: the USSR and its bouts of Lysenkoism.

    I'm just glad this is just a state government than the federal government that is pushing this law. At least it can be overrided at a higher level.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Fail - now available in smokeable form in glass pipes for your legislative pleasure!

      But you can't believe the USGS - they claim that fossils are older than the bible.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Fail - now available in smokeable form in glass pipes for your legislative pleasure!

        Not sure if the 2 down votes are from Americans that don't get sarcasm - or the 7 up votes are !

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fail - now available in smokeable form in glass pipes for your legislative pleasure!

      It's because there are whole hordes of 'climate scientists' that need to earn a living and need to produce 'groundbreaking' research, done for 'the first time', 'unprecedented'. The problem is that no one can predict anything, short term, medium term or long term. So all there is, is data. And you can find whatever you want to find in the data. And if you can't find it, then create some new data that let's you find it.

      So why not deal with problems as they happen? There is hunger in Africa. Deal with that now. Who cares there will be hunger in 100 years time there? It's happening now, and you don't do anything about that? But you are willing to spend money to stop it from happening in a 100 years time? Lol.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fail - now available in smokeable form in glass pipes for your legislative pleasure!

      Everyone stay calm! This is not happening!

      - King Arnulf, in "Eric the Viking"

  8. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    What about continental drift?

    The Atlantic basin is growing in volume by about 1 cubic km per century (ROM WAG) due to continental drift. Should help. A bit.

    How about we flood the Afar Depression in Ethiopia? With their permission of course. Lovely waterfront properties, free fish. The Dead Sea could use some water as well. Other places as well. E.g. Death Valley. It seems there's quite a few areas where we could create in-land seas to offload some excess water.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What about continental drift?

      And what about replacing the Golden Gate bridge with a Thames-style tidal barrier?

  9. Gordon 10

    Rick you are truly the anti-Lewis.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Has anyone seen them in the same room at the same time?

      1. Eponymous Cowherd
        Boffin

        E = MC2

        Do you have any idea of the amount of energy that would be released if a Lewis and Anti-Lewis ever met?

        Sea level rises would be the least of your worries.

  10. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
    Coat

    Oracle?

    Won't bother Larry, all the more ocean to sail on...

  11. dotdavid
    Thumb Up

    Orable's backup plan

    "note that both Oracle and Facebook have their office campuses a mere stone's throw from the steadily rising San Francisco Bay"

    So the reason for Larry's purchase of that island becomes clear....

    Wait... island? Larry you idiot; you were supposed to go for the hollowed-out volcano!

  12. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    That's new, isn't it ?

    Legislators defining the acceptable limits of reality. I love it !

    Next step : outlawing any reports on pollution and claiming that the world's air is pure.

    Final step : outlawing illegal behavior and giving the pink slip to all cops in the state.

    Paradise, here we come !

  13. John A Blackley

    I'm in favour

    I live about nine miles from the coast and the people who live in the town on the coast are snobs.

    Bring on the rise in sea levels.

  14. mhenriday
    Pint

    «According to the US Geological Survey – hardly a hotbed of wild-eyed alarmists – ...»

    Wild-eyed hippies every mother's son, Rik - I strongly suspect that you've been shirking on your daily quota of LP and AO lately !...

    Henri

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Website secured

    www.basingstoke-on-sea.co.uk sorted.

  16. Astarte

    Cutler Ridge, FL

    I drove through Cutler Ridge on the Atlantic coast some a long time ago on my way to the Keys. Back then the sign proudly announced

    Cutler Ridge, Pop. 97, Elevation 3ft

    I thought then that if a supertanker went by a bit too close and a bit too fast it would swamp a fair amount of Florida.

  17. Ron 6
    Mushroom

    Data based science?

    "Instead of relying upon data-based science that indicates increasing rates of sea-level rise"

    Actually, those legislators are basing their finding on observed facts instead of computer models. It's funny that the people making the claim for the extreme rise don't mention that there are no physical facts supporting their forecast.

    1. Kirbini
      FAIL

      Re: Data based science?

      What the hell are you on about? The whole report is based on decades of OBSERVED DATA otherwise known as PHYSICAL FACTS.

      Are you a troll or just thick?

      1. Charles 9

        Re: Data based science?

        There's observations and then there's observations. Then again, correlations do not necessarily imply causality. Take a close look at Japan's east coast for a feel of where observed facts can go wrong because they don't provide enough data to account for the possibility of extraordinary events. California builders faced the same problem historically until recent stronger earthquakes gave them more hard fact with which to account for stronger events in future.

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