One of the most rapid sea level surges on Earth is besieging the American South, forcing a reckoning for coastal communities across eight U.S. states, a Washington Post analysis has found. At more than a dozen tide gauges spanning from Texas to North Carolina, sea levels are at least 6 inches higher than they were in 2010 - a change similar to what occurred over the previous five decades. Scientists are documenting a barrage of impacts - ones, they say, that will confront an even larger swath of U.S. coastal communities in the coming decades - even as they try to decipher the precise causes of this recent surge. The Gulf of Mexico has experienced twice the global average rate of sea level rise since 2010, a Post analysis of satellite data shows. Few other places on the planet have seen similar rates of increase, such as the North Sea near the United Kingdom.

Source: Washington Post May 03, 2024 01:44 UTC