Sea Level Rise
What is Sea Level Rise?
Sea level rise is the increasing height of ocean elevations globally. Sea level rise is driven by warming temperatures on Earth. The warming temperatures cause the melting of ice and the expansion of water. Both the melting of ice and the expansion of water contribute to elevated sea levels. The issue of sea level rise is made worse by land elevation lowering from subsidence. To learn more about sea level rise, read below.
Causes of Sea Level Rise
Ice Melt
Thermal Expansion
Thermal Expansion
Melting glaciers is the main force behind sea level rise. As temperatures increase, glaciers melt. The meltwater from the glaciers increases sea level. For more information on how glaciers affect our planet, click the button below.
Thermal Expansion
Thermal Expansion
Thermal Expansion
Sea levels are also rising from thermal expansion. As ocean water is warmed, the water expands. The expansion of the water contributes to rising sea levels. To see thermal expansion in action, click the button below.
Sea levels along the U.S. Coastline are predicted to rise an average 10 to 12 inches in the next 30 years.
NOAA 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report
NOAA Sea level rise viewer
To better understand how sea level rise will effect you, click the button below to view the NOAA sea level rise viewer. Using the viewer you can see how different changes to sea level will change your coastline.
Land Subsidence and Sea Level Rise
What is land subsidence
Land subsidence is the sinking of land due to removal of groundwater, soil compaction, or other causes. Land subsidence worsens sea level rise. As sea levels rise, the sinking land elevation means smaller increases to sea level rise will inundate more land. As such, land subsidence leaves coastal areas susceptible to sea level rise.
For more information
Marsh Migration and Sea Level Rise
What is marsh retreat?
As sea levels rise and wetlands are eroded, the marshes will migrate landward. When marshes migrate landward they risk being blocked by development. Once retreating marshes come in contact with developed areas, they cannot migrate further inland. Instead the marsh system will erode and disappear entirely. For more information on marsh retreat and how it negatively impacts coastal areas, click the button below.
Prior Land Use Along the Delaware Bay
How land use has left the Bayshore susceptible.
In the Delaware Bay region prior land use has left coastal areas less equipped to handle sea level rise. Through processes such as salt hay farming, many wetlands were impounded along the Bayshore. As the marshes were impounded vegetation was lost. Where practices such as salt hay farming were done in the past, only mudflats remain. As a result, prior land use along the Delaware Bay has left the area more susceptible to sea level rise than regions where ecosystems were preserved. While prior land use has damaged the marshes of the Delaware Bay, recent restoration efforts have helped undo many of these negative impacts.