Richard Tafoya
Jun 2nd, 2008, 07:33 PM
Atlanta Journal Constitution:
http://www.ajc.com/celebrities/content/news/stories/2008/06/02/global_warming_gulf_coast.html
A new government report offers a grim forecast of global warming's long-term impact on the Gulf Coast, warning that "a vast portion ... from Houston to Mobile, Ala., may be inundated in the future."
The predicted flooding, resulting from rising sea levels and sinking land surfaces, would occur within the next 50 to 100 years, according to the report, released last month by the National Science and Technology Council, a federal advisory body.
While the effects would fall outside the life spans of most adults today, they could be felt by their children and grandchildren.
Titled "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States," (http://www.climatescience.gov/) the report is essentially a roundup of previous work on climate change. The section on the Gulf Coast is an adaptation of a separate study released earlier this year.
Although rising seas will threaten coastal areas around the country, the Gulf Coast "is facing much higher increases" because much of the region is subsiding as the result of soil compaction, the researchers concluded.
By a middling estimate, those increases could range from almost a foot to about 3 feet during the period in question, according to the technology council report. Separate numbers compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey indicate the increases could be considerably higher around Galveston, Texas, and New Orleans.
While levees and sea walls could provide some protection, "considerable land area is still at risk of permanent flooding from rising tides, sinking land and erosion during storms," it said.
http://www.ajc.com/celebrities/content/news/stories/2008/06/02/global_warming_gulf_coast.html
A new government report offers a grim forecast of global warming's long-term impact on the Gulf Coast, warning that "a vast portion ... from Houston to Mobile, Ala., may be inundated in the future."
The predicted flooding, resulting from rising sea levels and sinking land surfaces, would occur within the next 50 to 100 years, according to the report, released last month by the National Science and Technology Council, a federal advisory body.
While the effects would fall outside the life spans of most adults today, they could be felt by their children and grandchildren.
Titled "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States," (http://www.climatescience.gov/) the report is essentially a roundup of previous work on climate change. The section on the Gulf Coast is an adaptation of a separate study released earlier this year.
Although rising seas will threaten coastal areas around the country, the Gulf Coast "is facing much higher increases" because much of the region is subsiding as the result of soil compaction, the researchers concluded.
By a middling estimate, those increases could range from almost a foot to about 3 feet during the period in question, according to the technology council report. Separate numbers compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey indicate the increases could be considerably higher around Galveston, Texas, and New Orleans.
While levees and sea walls could provide some protection, "considerable land area is still at risk of permanent flooding from rising tides, sinking land and erosion during storms," it said.