{"id":14612,"date":"2018-09-13T18:13:33","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T18:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=14612&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-05-17T14:04:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T14:04:59","slug":"sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Communities and Coastlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall \u00a02018 |\u00a0<\/i>By Laura J. Cole<\/em><\/p>\n

[lead]On your next trip to the beach, you most likely won\u2019t notice the change in sea level. It\u2019s rising globally by only about 3 millimeters per year, which may seem insignificant to the average beachgoer.\u00a0[\/lead]<\/p>\n

But according to Thomas Wahl, a coastal engineer at UCF<\/a>, those small changes over time can have a big impact on our coasts, especially in terms of storm surges and flooding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s dangerous are hurricanes, storms and nor\u2019easters pushing water toward the coast,\u201d Wahl says.<\/p>\n

He explains it in terms of giving toddlers baths. Fill two tubs halfway with water. One child likes to play calmly with his toys, maybe pushing a boat around in between shampoo rinses, and another has full-on sea battles with hers. The rowdier child is more likely to splash water onto the floor.<\/p>\n

Now, fill both tubs higher, and the likelihood of water spilling over onto the floor increases for both scenarios.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the bathtub fills up, the base water level gets higher and higher, meaning smaller storms (or calmer toddlers) have a higher likelihood to produce the same water level, which can lead to flooding,\u201d Wahl says.<\/p>\n

Wahl\u2019s research, which was recently published in Nature<\/em>, uses data from tide gauges around the world to examine the occurrence of these events, often referred to as 100-year storm surges.<\/p>\n

Presently believed to have only a 1 percent chance of hitting in a given year, these storms are very dangerous and cause the most damage to homes and communities. And Wahl\u2019s research has found that in some areas, they could occur as often as every year or two and be more severe.<\/p>\n

When asked what advice he\u2019s given to friends as a result of his research, he says, \u201cMaybe don\u2019t buy beach property, at least not on the ground floor or without other measures in place to prevent your home from being flooded. And get flood insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

ESTIMATED FREQUENCY IN YEARS OF 100-YEAR FLOODS BY 2050<\/h2>\n

1\u20132 2\u20135 5\u201310 10\u201320 20\u201350 50\u2013100 100\u201310,000
\nData was collected from existing tide gauges. Locations without dots indicate either a lack of tide gauge data for that area or not enough data over an extended period of time to be reliable.
\n[photo id=”15139″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-World” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking important points” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]
\n[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[blockquote source=”Thomas Wahl” cite=”” color=”” css_class=””]\u201cChanges in sea-level rise may be imperceptible to the naked eye, but those changes over time, amplified by storm surges and flooding, lead to considerable loss of life and billions of dollars of damage each year globally.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

\n
\n

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS<\/h2>\n

[photo id=”15136″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-NewYorkF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking important points, with the main point marked as NEW YORK” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

SOLUTION<\/h3>\n

RETREAT: NEW YORK<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u201cBuyouts have started,\u201d Wahl says, \u201cin places like New York after Superstorm Sandy, where the government will buy property so owners can move away from the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15134″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-GulfCoastF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking important points, with the main point marked as GULF COAST” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

CHALLENGE<\/h3>\n

GULF COAST<\/strong><\/span>
\nSinking land, such as along the Gulf of Mexico, is a result of pumping gas and extracting fluids out of the ground.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15137″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-ScandanaviaF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking important points, with the main point marked as SCANDANAVIA” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

CHALLENGE<\/h3>\n

SCANDINAVIA<\/strong><\/span>
\nLand is rising near the Baltic Sea as a result of ice melting from the last ice age and reducing the load. \u201cAt least for now, people in Sweden can lean back and enjoy sea-level rise,\u201d Wahl says.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15133″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-GermanyNetherlandsF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking cities, with the main dot marked as GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

SOLUTION<\/h3>\n

BUILD UP: GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Dutch and Germans have \u201cbuilt dikes, dunes and barriers that can be closed to protect coastal communities, ports, harbors and marinas,\u201d Wahl says.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15132″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-EquatorF” alt=”greyscale map of the world with different colored dots marking cities. The Equator is written in black text pointing to a black dotted line, which indicates the Equator” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

CHALLENGE<\/h3>\n

EQUATOR<\/strong><\/span>
\nSea levels are rising the fastest along the equator. There are a few reasons for this, such as ice sheets and glaciers melting, causing the water to head toward the equator while the sea level near the polar ice caps drops.
\n[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15131″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-DubaiF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking cities, with the main city marked as DUBAI” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

SOLUTION<\/h3>\n

ADVANCE THE LINE: DUBAI<\/strong><\/span>
\nMan-made islands, such as the Palm Islands and The World, are built by dredging sand from the Persian and Arabian gulfs\u2019 floors to create resort destinations.
\n[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”15135″ title=”Pegasus_Fa2018-Story-SeaChange-JapanF” alt=”greyscale map with colorful dots marking important points, with the main point marked as JAPAN” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

SOLUTION<\/h3>\n

JAPAN<\/strong><\/span>
\nAfter decades of groundwater extraction was causing Tokyo to sink, the government passed laws limiting the amount of water that could be pumped, which has helped slow the retreat significantly.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

STRONGER TOGETHER<\/h2>\n

When it comes to Wahl\u2019s research, he\u2019s the first to admit he\u2019s only one piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot about sea level and storm surges, and I know my way around statistics,\u201d he says. \u201cBut at some point, we need to know what we can do with this research. We have to take the next step. We need to answer: How many people will be affected, and how much will it cost us?\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where UCF\u2019s new National Center for Integrated Coastal Research comes in.<\/p>\n

It places coastal engineers and oceanographers in conversation with geographers, who can produce maps to be used by stakeholders and policymakers; with economists, who can look at the impact to costs of goods and services around the globe; with biologists, who can say how much natural solutions such as wetlands and oyster reefs can offset potential damages; and with political scientists, who can determine what regulations are needed to help coastal communities be more resilient.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than just looking at water levels like I do, together, we\u2019re able to look at the entire system almost as an organism that has to be protected and has to become more resilient if it wants to survive,\u201d Wahl says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14723,"template":"","categories":[1127],"tags":[1322],"class_list":["post-14612","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infographic","tag-national-center-for-integrated-coastal-research","issues-1242","issues-fall-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Sea-Level Rise Will Impact Communities and Coastlines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Communities and Coastlines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-17T14:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/\",\"name\":\"How Sea-Level Rise Will Impact Communities and Coastlines\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-13T18:13:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-17T14:04:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":230,\"caption\":\"Colorful dots outline a white map of the world.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Communities and Coastlines\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of University of Central Florida\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"University of Central Florida\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Sea-Level Rise Will Impact Communities and Coastlines","description":"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Communities and Coastlines","og_description":"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF","article_modified_time":"2022-05-17T14:04:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":230,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UCF","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/","name":"How Sea-Level Rise Will Impact Communities and Coastlines","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg","datePublished":"2018-09-13T18:13:33+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-17T14:04:59+00:00","description":"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/Pegasus_StorySquareFeaturedThumb_220x230-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg","width":220,"height":230,"caption":"Colorful dots outline a white map of the world."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Communities and Coastlines"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of University of Central Florida","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/sea-level-rise-will-impact-communities-coastlines\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"University of Central Florida"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"A UCF professor discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines.","story_description":"UCF coastal engineer Thomas Wahl discusses how seemingly small changes in sea levels will have big consequences for our coastlines \u2014 and how to prepare.","story_thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/09\/PegasusHomepage_StoryThumb_Small_263x175-SeaChange-Fa2018.jpg","width":263,"height":175},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/14612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/14612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23043,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/14612\/revisions\/23043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}