New research predicts that sea levels might rise faster than anyone thought.
New research predicts that sea levels might rise faster than anyone thought.
A study*, published by James Hansen (a former NASA climatologist and the pioneer in climate science) and 18 other co-authors has just passed formal peer review, after deep inspection by the scientific community.
This particular study was so rigorously investigated because it contains a startlingly revelation: Due to a feedback cycle between the oceans and the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, sea levels might rise two to five meters by the end of this century, which is five to 10 times faster than previous estimates.
The difference in estimates results from Hansen and his associates taking into account non-linear rates of change on the climate; in essence, the climate system doesn’t change step by step, but changes slowly and then all at once.
What this means is that we might see the submergence of low-lying costal areas like Bangladesh and the Netherlands, and the appearance of more superstorms like Hurricane Sandy, all within our lifetimes.
Can we prevent this from happening? Hansen advocates ending the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and creating a worldwide carbon tax to rapidly reduce emissions.
If we do not act in time, the study concludes, the resulting change in world sea levels “… would become practically unavoidable. Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea-level rise could be devastating… threatening the fabric of civilization.”
*Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2 °C global warming could be dangerousHardware
