The remains of a home near a beach destroyed by Hurricane Michael on May 9, 2019 in Mexico Beach, Florida. Scott Olson / Getty Images
As the Gulf states get pummeled by intense hurricanes and California burns in record-breaking wildfires, many in regions like these have contemplated moving to places projected to fare better in the face of the climate crisis. The ability to work from home, indefinitely for some, has also inspired interest in relocation away from expensive cities like San Francisco and New York that are vulnerable to climate disasters, reported SF Gate.
<p>"We lived in Oakland where we owned a home for over 20 years. The natural and man-made disasters got to be too much for us," Rita Liberati explained to SF Gate after her move to central New York. "My partner is retired, but my employer gave the OK for me to work remotely for which I'm grateful."</p><p>A closer look, though, reveals a disheartening answer to the question of where can you move to be safe from the effects of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>. Hint: it's basically nowhere.</p>
<p>In a "Dear Abby" style advice column tackling that exact question, <a href="https://grist.org/article/lets-say-i-wanted-to-escape-climate-change-where-should-i-go/" target="_blank">Grist</a> called the impulse to flee to avoid climate disruptions "reasonable" because "climate change rivals nuclear war for the greatest threat to human life in the history of our species' existence. Every survival instinct we've cultivated to date should, understandably, make us want to get away from it."</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90288934/how-soon-will-climate-change-force-you-to-move" target="_blank">Fast Company</a>, the risk is not the same everywhere, and some places will suffer more extreme impacts from the climate crisis. Miami, for example, already floods with high tides. By 2060, 60% of the city will suffer chronic flooding; by 2100, that number jumps to 90%, Fast Company reported. In Alaska, some residents have already been forced to relocate because melting permafrost and erosion have caused parts of their village to wash away into the sea, reported <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/12/where-should-i-move-to-be-safe-from-climate-change/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</p>
<p>Jesse Keenan, a Harvard climate adaptation specialist, suggested the Upper Midwest and parts of Minnesota as more comfortable locales in the face of the climate crisis because they are rural, wooded, Northern and stocked with fresh water, the Grist reported. Keenan quickly followed up saying that if everyone moved there, those "climate strongholds" would be quickly overrun and overtaxed. Another <a href="https://grist.org/article/we-broke-down-what-climate-change-will-do-region-by-region/" target="_blank">Grist</a> article also noted that those regions would suffer crop diseases, pests and algal blooms in the Great Lakes because of climate change.</p><p>Dave Anderson bought a 70-acre ranch in Oregon as a "Plan B" escape property for his family if their homes in Houston ever became uninhabitable, reported the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/realestate/climate-change-insurance-buy-land-somewhere-else.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.</p><p>I'm no doomsday prepper," he told the Times. "That said, we intentionally purchased a relatively remote property well above sea level, with ample water and wildlife, with the expectation that the property would survive for generations of family use."</p><p>While his property sounds relatively safe, according to Grist, Oregon itself is under a consistent threat of wildfires, scarce fresh water sources, and big earthquakes.</p><p>"There's nowhere you can hide. I think you need to come to terms with what you think you're running from," Keenan told Grist.</p>
<p>Tellingly, the second Grist article broke down what climate change is predicted to change in the U.S. region by region and found no place was fully "safe." From more extremely hot nights and invasive lionfish in the Southeast, to worse storms and dwindling freshwater supplies in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, to more fires and droughts along the entire West Coast, the picture is bleak in different degrees and different ways anywhere you look, the report said.</p><p>Inequity also is a complicating concern, with many people "too poor to move," Keenan told Fast Company. "Climate change is going to make the problem much more profound. What I'm concerned with … is not necessarily where people are going to move, but who's going to be trapped."</p>
<p>Fast Company and Yale also noted the difficulties with relocating — finding a new sense of community, social circles and rootedness, all of which are "survival mechanisms" that help in the face of emergencies like climate disasters.</p><p>Instead of the somewhat futile effort to escape climate change by moving, some experts are advocating instead for increased investments in climate resilience where people already live, Yale reported. The news report also listed resources for U.S.-based readers to look up everything from how many increased hot days a region will experience to how climate change will affect air quality, and suggested getting involved with local resiliency planning.</p><p>"So before you pack your bags, first make sure you understand the expected consequences of climate change where you live now. Do those risks outweigh the cost of leaving behind friends, neighbors, family, and professional contacts?" the report queried.</p>
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Popular tourist attraction St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. Edmund Hochmuth / Pixabay
A rising tide threatened to flood Venice, Italy, on Saturday, providing the first test for the city's long-awaited flood barrier. The tide peaked around four feet, potentially affecting more than one-third of the city, but controversial underwater barriers contained the rising waters, the AP reported.
<p>Popular tourist attraction St. Mark's Square usually floods at three feet, but remained mostly dry with the exception of some puddles, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-flood-barrier/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNN</a> reported. </p><p>This is due to a new flood barrier dubbed MOSE, short for Electromagnetic Experimental Module in English. The system comprises 78 barriers submerged where the Adriatic Sea meets the Venetian lagoon, which form a dam during high tides, CNN reported.</p><p>"I'd heard the [warning] sirens in the morning but I didn't raise any of my furniture this time because the barrier lifted on the last test, and I had faith that it would work," Sebastian Fagarazzi, co-founder of social initiative Venezia Autentica, told CNN. "This is historic."</p>
<p>The MOSE system has been in development since 1984, but corruption, ballooning costs and concerns from environmental groups created delays, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/world/europe/venice-floodgates-flooding.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"We found a difficult situation and slowly, slowly we've been able to resolve things," Giuseppe Fiengo, one of the commissioners who have overseen the project since 2014, told The New York Times. "The important thing is that today, for the first time, with high water, Venice didn't flood."<br></p><p>The timing of the successful test is a welcome relief to Venetians who endured the city's worst flooding in 53 years in November 2019 and who see the climate crisis as a mounting threat that will jeopardize the survival of the city, reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-weather-venice/mose-flood-barrier-finally-holds-the-waters-back-for-fragile-venice-idUSKBN26O0AZ" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>Despite MOSE's success on Saturday, there is still infrastructure work to be completed on the barriers. The plan is for the barriers to rise when the tide passes 3.6 feet above normal levels. However, the current threshold is 4.2 feet until the MOSE system is finished, according to the AP.<br></p><p>Saturday's tide levels were a fraction of what Venice experienced last year when the tide rose six feet above sea level. While engineers say the barrier will protect the city from tides up to 10 feet high, the MOSE system has not yet been tested in those conditions, The New York Times reported.</p><p>Some noted that rising sea levels caused by the climate crisis might force the barriers to stay up half the year, which would harm shipping channels and turn the Venetian lagoon into a swamp.</p>
<p>"With climate change, there's a chance that the floodgates could be employed 150-180 days a year, becoming an almost fixed barrier and severing the lagoon's relation to the sea," Cristiano Gasparetto, an architect and former provincial official who has long opposed the project, told The New York Times. "If the lagoon is cut off from the sea for long periods, it dies, because the natural exchange of waters stops, and all of its organic life risks decaying," he added. "If the lagoon dies, Venice dies." </p><p>The mayor, however, celebrated a device that may bring relief to Venice.</p><p>"Today, everything is dry. We stopped the sea," mayor Luigi Brugnaro said according to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/Reuters" target="_self">Reuters</a>. "Lots of bad things have happened here, but now something wonderful has happened."</p>
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Jordan Lye / Moment / Getty Images
Drinking regular green tea is a lot like boiling kale and drinking the water. You get some of the nutrients, but most of it goes in the trash. With matcha tea, on the other hand, you consume the whole tea leaves and get all the nutrients. Plus, matcha is more nutrient-dense to begin with.
<h2>What's the Difference Between Matcha and Green Tea?<br></h2><p>Matcha and green tea are both made from the leaves of the <em>Camellia sinensis</em> plant. However, there are some key differences. </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Matcha is ground into a fine powder, whereas with regular green tea the leaves are left whole.</li><li>Matcha plants are <a href="https://health.bastyr.edu/news/health-tips/2017/06/matcha-green-tea-quality-matters" target="_blank">kept in complete shade</a> two weeks before harvesting, whereas regular green tea plants are exposed to sunlight. </li><li>Matcha leaves are steamed after harvesting, whereas green tea leaves are not. </li><li>Matcha tea uses the whole leaf, whereas with regular green tea the stems and veins are removed. </li><li>Matcha contains higher levels of the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). </li><li>Matcha contains higher concentrations of amino acids like L-theanine and L-arginine. </li><li>Matcha contains more caffeine.</li></ul><p>Plus, matcha tea powder can be added to food bars and baked goods.</p><h2>Health Benefits of Matcha vs. Green Tea </h2><p>Matcha tea and green tea <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855614/" target="_blank">both possess the same general health benefits</a>. Each has the potential to:</p><ol class="ee-ol"><li>Relieve stress and anxiety</li><li>Support cardiovascular health</li><li>Reduce inflammation</li><li>Promote weight loss</li><li>Speed muscle recovery</li><li>Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes</li><li>Enhance cognition</li></ol><p>According to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28056735" target="_blank">2017 meta-analysis</a>, the compounds in green tea may boost cognition in healthy individuals. The study found "reliable evidence showing that L-theanine and caffeine have clear beneficial effects on sustained attention, memory, and suppression of distraction." This may be where the subtle differences lie. Overall, matcha has higher concentrations of L-theanine and caffeine. Therefore matcha tends to exert a more powerful feeling of "alert calm."<br></p><p>If you decide to drink green tea later in the day, opt for regular green tea. The lower caffeine content should be less likely to disrupt your sleep cycle.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="09cddfb8518b6c6c98ec96fc2bec222a"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DCyov2kAfs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A Week of Matcha 🍵 7 Ways to Enjoy</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DCyov2kAfs" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><h2>How Each Tea is Produced and Prepared</h2><p>Regular green tea is entirely sun-grown, meaning it's exposed to normal sunlight right up until the day it's harvested.</p><p>Matcha tea, on the other hand, is kept in the shade for the final 2-3 weeks before harvesting. The lack of sunlight triggers the plant to produce more chlorophyll, resulting in higher concentrations of therapeutic compounds. Shade harvesting is also responsible for the plant's distinct earthy aroma. Unlike regular green tea, matcha is steamed and then stone-ground into a fine powder. </p><p>Regular green tea is prepared by steeping the dried leaves in hot water for 30-45 seconds, then straining the liquid and removing the leaves. </p><p>Matcha tea, however, is prepared by mixing 1-2 teaspoons of matcha powder in a small amount of hot water using a traditional bamboo whisk or spoon. Once the powder is thoroughly mixed, more hot water can be added to taste.<br></p><h2>Nutritional Content of Matcha vs. Green Tea</h2><p>Although matcha and green tea both come from the same species of plant, <em>Camellia sinensis</em>, matcha has a higher concentration of therapeutic compounds. This is because the shade-harvesting practices of matcha yield higher levels of the alkaloid caffeine, the amino acid L-theanine, and the antioxidant EGCG.</p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14518774" target="_blank">2003 study</a>, matcha contains roughly three times more EGCG than the average green tea. EGCG is thought to be responsible for several of green tea's health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/health/cbd-oil-for-inflammation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fighting inflammation</a>.</p><p>In a recent study published in <a href="https://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/8617188" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition</em></a>, researchers demonstrated that EGCG can effectively guard against oxidative damage. The L-theanine in green tea is largely responsible for green tea's calming effects. </p><p>According to a 2006 study published in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17182482" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy</em></a>, L-theanine accomplishes this by increasing levels of dopamine, serotonin, and GABA.</p><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em><h2>The Best Matcha Green Tea To Buy Online</h2>
PureChimp Matcha Green Tea
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODEyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTk5MTQ2N30.LFnBSXXdXDaTauZKFHzhUlTD_oWW-iASKWSOAZ1yD1k/img.jpg?width=980" id="4a026" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d38755744f58860d3d54c04960da3f1e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1214" data-height="1082" />Amazon
<ul><li>5% of the company's profits go to charity </li><li>Packaged in a recyclable glass jar with an aluminum lid</li><li>High-quality Japanese matcha with a less bitter taste</li></ul>
$15
Chalait Matcha (Organic Grade)
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODE1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjMzMDI1OX0.PTEKQZ5q7xuQYR5t9UY2oIrnnJo5WaXO2JUsmW6X3n0/img.jpg?width=980" id="6813f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="22157d69139a0b693561544109d0f2a0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1204" data-height="1172" />Amazon
<ul><li>Tested annually for pesticides and heavy metals like lead</li><li>Smooth mellow flavor with hints of chocolate, leafy greens, and snow peas</li><li>Small batch product made from hand-picked leaves<span class="redactor-invisible-space"></span></li></ul>
$35
MatchaBar Ceremonial Grade Matcha
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODIwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDAxNjk3MX0.gcR7gkvP8zLaPQEOWVnrt4TpghTvWAgFvI1yilOj238/img.jpg?width=980" id="4336a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a1ae90855a0799a95c60e38a75fc27fa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1346" data-height="1056" /><ul><li>Highest caffeine and antioxidant levels on the market, according to the brand</li><li>Small batch product that is hand blended </li><li>Graded by a certified Chasi tea master</li></ul>
$30
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Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster Than at Any Time in Last 12,000 Years, Study Finds
01 October 2020
Climate
Icebergs float at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during a week of unseasonably warm weather on Aug. 4, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. Sean Gallup /Getty Images
Rising temperatures in the air and the water surrounding Greenland are melting its massive ice sheet at a faster rate than anytime in the last 12 millennia, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
<p>The study, <em>Rate of mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet will exceed Holocene values this century</em>, found that while Greenland is losing ice rapidly now, the worst is yet to come. At its current trajectory, the Greenland ice sheet will lose its ice mass roughly four times faster than at anytime in the last 11,700 years. The researchers say the massive dump of freshwater into the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> will disrupt the ocean's currents and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">raise sea levels</a>, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/30/greenland-ice-melt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>Advanced prediction models had led scientists to conclude that Greenland's melting ice, which is currently the largest contributor to sea level rise, is raising sea levels by 0.7 millimeters each year. And, by the end of the century, that number could increase anywhere from four to ten times its current contribution.</p>
<p>This new paper found that prediction to be a severe underestimation. It revised that prediction and accounted for a wide range of greenhouse gas emissions to conclude that Greenland's contribution to sea level rise will actually be much worse. By the end of the century, it will lift sea levels between 2 to 10 centimeters every year, according to a commentary in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02700-y#:~:text=Briner%20et%20al.4%20have,about%206%2C000%20gigatonnes%20per%20century." target="_blank"><em>Nature</em></a>.</p><p>The Washington Post noted that while Greenland is the largest contributor to rising sea levels, the melting ice sheets in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/antarctica">Antarctica</a> may raise sea levels even more.</p><p>"We have altered our planet so much that the rates of ice sheet melt this century are on pace to be greater than anything we have seen under natural variability of the ice sheet over the past 12,000 years," said Jason Briner, a geologist at the University of Buffalo and lead author of the paper, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/30/greenlands-ice-melting-faster-sea-level-rise" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>Briner pointed out that the current ice melt is not due to the natural variability, which is why it is so different from historical patterns. This melting is strictly man-made, which is unprecedented in the history of the world, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/weather/greenland-ice-sheet-melt-carbon-emissions-climate-change/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The commentary in <em>Nature</em>, written by Andy Aschwanden from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, noted that there is really only one way available to us to stop the acceleration of sea ice loss from Greenland.</p><p>"Thanks to the work of Briner and colleagues, we are now one step closer to the goal of accurately and confidently predicting mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet," Aschwanden concluded. "However, we are also increasingly certain that we are about to experience unprecedented rates of ice loss from Greenland, unless greenhouse-gas emissions are substantially reduced."</p><p>To conduct the research, the scientists used a combination of on-the-ground observations in southwest Greenland and advanced computer modeling. The geologists looked at the composition of Greenland's boulders to determine when ice was there and when it melted away. That analysis allowed them to put together an uninterrupted history of Greenland's ice sheet and a predictive model for the next century, as The Washington Post reported.</p>
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Trending
Residents plant mangroves on the coast of West Aceh District in Indonesia on Feb. 21, 2020. Mangroves play a crucial role in stabilizing the coastline, providing protection from storms, waves and tidal erosion. Dekyon Eon / Opn Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Mangroves play a vital role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. Mangrove forests are tremendous assets in the fight to stem the climate crisis. They store more carbon than a rainforest of the same size.
<p>However, they are under threat from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a>. A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aba2656" target="_blank">new study</a> found that if emissions continue unabated, mangroves will not be able to keep up and could disappear in 30 years, as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/4/21280580/sea-level-rise-mangroves-climate-change-2050" target="_blank">The Verge</a> reported.</p><p>The new study published in the journal <em><a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aba2656" target="_blank">Science</a></em> found that mangroves will start to die out if sea levels rise just six millimeters per year. However, mangroves are more likely to survive when sea level rise is less than 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inches) per year, which is projected for low-emissions scenarios this century, according to a Rutgers University <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200604152109.htm" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"Under high-emissions scenarios, rates of sea-level rise on many tropical coastlines will exceed 7 millimeters per year, the rate at which we concluded there's a 6.2 percent probability mangroves can sustain growth," said co-author Erica Ashe, a post-doctoral scientist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University, in the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200604152109.htm" target="_blank">statement</a>. "The loss of these mangrove ecosystems could result in increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and fewer vital buffers against storm surges in the long run."</p><p>Around the world, there are 80 different species of mangrove trees. All of them grow in warm, shallow, coastal waters around the tropics. They spread their roots in sediment that is under the water, while their upper trunks, branches and leaves are above the water. The forests usually flood twice a day during high tide, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mangrove-forests-expected-sea-level-rise-2050-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1508466" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.</p><p>They play a crucial role in stabilizing the coastline, providing protection from storms, waves, and tidal erosion. Their root systems provide a habitat for fish and other animals, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mangrove-forests-expected-sea-level-rise-2050-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1508466" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>. Mangrove forests work their magic by pulling freshwater from salty seawater to serve as a nursery for fish, crustaceans and shellfish. But if their roots are completely submerged for too long, the mangroves will drown.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/4/21280580/sea-level-rise-mangroves-climate-change-2050" target="_blank">The Verge</a> noted, mangrove forests are a boon to people and the planet, which is why scientists in Florida have sought to use mangroves as a defense for coastal communities from the ravages of the climate crisis. However, for mangroves to help us, we will first need to help them.</p><p>"We have an opportunity here to take action and to keep the rates of sea level rise below these critical thresholds, which is part of the reason that this is an important study," says Ashe, as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/4/21280580/sea-level-rise-mangroves-climate-change-2050" target="_blank">The Verge</a> reported.</p><p>To figure out just how much sea level rise was too much for the mangroves, Ashe and her colleagues, led by Neil Saintilan from Macquarie University in Australia, examined sediment core samples from 78 locations around the world. Those samples shed light on how mangroves responded to past changes in the rate of sea level rise, which went from more than 10 millimeters (0.39 inches) per year nearly 10,000 years ago to almost stable around 4,000 years later, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mangrove-forests-expected-sea-level-rise-2050-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1508466" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported. They discovered that mangrove ecosystems only developed when rates of sea level rise dropped below about 7 millimeters a year.</p>
<p>"There was good news and bad news. The good news was that mangroves were clearly capable of surviving much higher rates of sea-level rise than we have around the world at present," Saintilan told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mangrove-forests-expected-sea-level-rise-2050-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1508466" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>. "There were many examples where mangroves were able to keep pace with sea-level rise of 5 millimeters per year; the current rate is just over 3 millimeters per year."</p><p>"However, there was little evidence that mangroves could keep pace with sea-level rise of over 7 millimeters per year, and this threshold was lower for mangroves on coral reef settings, which failed to keep pace with sea-level rise above 5 millimeters per year. If the rate of sea-level rise doubles, mangroves are in serious trouble," he added.</p>
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According to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana experiences one of the highest rates of sea level rise on the planet, as evidenced by this home on stilts on August 24, 2019 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Drew Angerer / Getty Images
By Alistair Walsh
Global sea levels will probably rise by even more than currently predicted, scientists warned on Friday.
<p><br/></p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/sea-levels-could-rise-13-meters-by-2100-scientists-warn/a-53367946?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2645952057#/" target="_self"></a></p>
<p>Even if nations are able to achieve their Paris-Agreement commitment to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the oceans will still rise by about 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) by the end of the century and as much as 2 meters by 2300, a new study found.</p><p>If nations fail to act, and current emissions lead to warming of 4.5 degrees, then sea levels are predicted to rise between 0.6 and 1.3 meters by 2100 and between 1.7 and 5.6 meters by 2300.</p><p>The predictions are based on a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-0121-5" target="_blank">survey of 106 of the world's leading sea level researchers</a>, carried out by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and co-authored by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the Nature Partner Journal Climate and Atmospheric Science.</p>
Mitigation Is 'In Our Hands'
<p>"What we do now within a few decades will determine sea-level rise for many centuries, the new analysis shows more clearly than ever before," PIK's Stefan Rahmstorf said. "But this is also good news: when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, we have it in our own hands how much we increase the risks for millions of people on the world's coasts, from Hamburg to Shanghai and from Mumbai to New York.</p><p>The predictions are higher than those currently published by the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-ipcc-and-what-does-it-do/a-50552119" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</a>, which has already increased its predictions.</p><p>In September 2019, the UN climate science panel found that <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ipcc-15-c-degree-report-points-to-high-stakes-of-climate-inaction/a-45791882" target="_blank">unmitigated climate change would lead to a sea level rise</a> of between 0.61 meters and 1.1 meters by 2100. At the time it said the forecast could be conservative due to the speed at which Antarctic ice could melt.</p><p>Friday's report said the increased forecast came from better data and improved understanding of climate processes.</p>Data for Decision Makers
<p>"The complexity of the sea-level rise projections and the sheer volume of relevant scientific publications makes it difficult for policy makers to gain an overview of the state of research," NTU's Benjamin Horton said in a statement.</p><p>"For such an overview, it is therefore useful to ask leading experts what kind of sea-level rise they expect — this gives a broader picture of future scenarios and provides policymakers with the information they need to decide on the necessary measures."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, aka the "Doomsday Glacier," is starting to crack. NASA / Wikimedia Commons
Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier has been called the "Doomsday Glacier." Thwaites and its neighbor, the Pine Island Glacier, are among those in West Antarctica most influenced by the climate crisis. If they melted, they could destabilize the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which has the potential to contribute about 10 feet to global sea level rise.
<p>Now, a new study has found that the ice shelves supporting the two crucial glaciers are beginning to fissure and crack.</p><p>"These ice shelves are in the early phase of disintegration," study leader and Delft University of Technology satellite expert Stef Lhermitte told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/weather/antarctica-pine-island-thwaites-glacier-climate-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "They're starting to tear apart."</p><p>The research, published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/09/08/1912890117" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> Monday, looked at satellite images taken between 1997 and 2019 to document the ice shelves' increasing damage. The images show crevices and fissures in the glaciers, according to a Delft <a href="https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2020/tu-delft/antarctica-cracks-in-the-ice/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<div id="9e0ea" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="307392311f755bed5cb3a21f52e3dbc1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305597446182051841" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We use satellite imagery to show how the shear margins of both @AntarcticPIG and @ThwaitesGlacier have weakened. He… https://t.co/nKn0nGLU9V</div> — Stef Lhermitte (@Stef Lhermitte)<a href="https://twitter.com/StefLhermitte/statuses/1305597446182051841">1600113662.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Ice shelves are important for a glacier's stability because they provide support, similarly to how flying buttresses support a cathedral, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration lead principle researcher Brent Goehring <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/satellite-images-show-deterioration-antarctica-glaciers-lead-rising/story?id=72985182" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told ABC News</a>. Goehring was not involved with the paper.</p><p>The damage is occurring in the glaciers' shear zones, parts of the ice shelves where the fast-moving ice on top connects with the slower-moving ice or rock beneath, CNN explained. That damage significantly increased in 2016.</p><p>The researchers think that the damage they observed to the ice shelves will only beget more damage, Lhermitte explained in a <a href="https://twitter.com/StefLhermitte/status/1305599311091240963" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter thread</a>. This is for three reasons:</p><ol><li>The damage undermines the structural integrity of the ice shelves.</li><li>The damage weakens the ice shelves and makes them more vulnerable to warming air and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean" target="_self">ocean</a> temperatures.</li><li>The damage creates a feedback loop, leading to more weakening and more damage.</li></ol>
<p>Because of this, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scientists" target="_self">scientists</a> suggested that the damage be accounted for in climate models to better predict how Antarctic ice melt will contribute to sea level rise.</p><p>Sea levels are currently rising by around 3.5 millimeters a year, and the Thwaites Glacier accounts for four to five percent of that, Goehring told ABC News.</p><p>"If those glaciers would destabilize, a lot of neighboring areas would also fall apart, causing a widespread collapse," Indrani Das, a co-principle researcher on an International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration project, told ABC News. "It would cause a huge sea level rise."</p><p>However, Das did not think it likely that the collapse would take place this century.</p>
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As a hurricane reaches the coast, it pushes a huge volume of ocean water ashore, known as a storm surge. Jerry Coli / Pixabay
By Anthony C. Didlake Jr.
Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. It can sweep homes off their foundations, flood riverside communities miles inland, and break up dunes and levees that normally protect coastal areas against storms.
But what exactly is storm surge?
<p>
<br/>
</p>
What Storm Surge Looks Like From Shore
<p>As a hurricane reaches the coast, it pushes a huge volume of ocean water ashore. This is what we call storm surge.</p><p>This surge appears as a gradual rise in the water level as the storm approaches. Depending on the size and track of the hurricane, storm surge flooding can last for several hours. It then recedes after the storm passes.</p><p>Water level heights during a hurricane can reach 20 feet or more above normal sea level. With powerful waves on top of it, a hurricane's storm surge can cause catastrophic damage.</p>What Determines How High a Storm Surge Gets?
<p>Storm surge begins over the open ocean. The strong winds of a hurricane push the ocean waters around and cause water to pile up under the storm. The low air pressure of the storm also plays a small role in lifting the water level. The height and extent of this pile of water depend on the strength and size of the hurricane.</p><p>As this pile of water moves toward the coast, other factors can change its height and extent.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4aad41892c2bbd9d82864f56b59611cd"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbHO1mWHKq4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p> The <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/" target="_blank">depth of the sea floor</a> is one factor.</p><p>If a coastal area has a sea floor that gently slopes away from the coastline, it's more likely to see a higher storm surge than an area with a steeper drop-off. Gentle slopes along the Louisiana and Texas coasts have contributed to some devastating storm surges. Hurricane Katrina's surge in 2005 broke levees and flooded New Orleans. Hurricane Ike's <a href="https://www.hcfcd.org/Additional-Resources/Flooding-and-Floodplains/Storm-Center/Hurricane-Ike-2008" target="_blank">15- to 17-foot storm surge</a> and waves swept hundreds of homes off Texas' Bolivar Peninsula in 2008. Both were large, powerful storms that hit in vulnerable locations.</p><p>The shape of the coastline can also shape the surge. When a storm surge enters a bay or river, the geography of the land can act as a funnel, sending the water even higher.</p>
Other Factors That Shape Storm Surge
<p>Ocean tides – caused by the gravity of the moon and sun – can also strengthen or weaken the impact of a storm surge. So, it's important to know the timing of the local tides compared to the hurricane landfall.</p><p>At high tide, the water is already at an elevated height. If landfall happens at high tide, the storm surge will cause even higher water levels and bring more water further inland. The Carolinas saw those effects when Hurricane Isaias hit at close to high tide on Aug. 3. Isaias brought a storm surge of about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/08/03/isaias-path-carolinas-northeast/" target="_blank">4 feet at Myrtle Beach</a>, South Carolina, but the water level was <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/waterlevels.html?id=8661070&units=standard&bdate=20200802&edate=20200804&timezone=GMT&datum=MLLW&interval=6&action=" target="_blank">more than 10 feet</a> above normal.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDI5NDU5MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODM4MzAyNX0.vsG2bp86E11aXLI1pDke8F0hv1KGSEa5q3MF8JKzEjw/img.jpg?width=980" id="4b6ff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9dc9135513bb5741147c57d580dfdc32" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="600" data-height="279" />
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-c-didlake-jr-1151458" target="_blank">Anthony C. Didlake Jr.</a> is an </em><em>Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Anthony C. Didlake Jr. receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-hurricane-storm-surge-and-why-is-it-so-dangerous-145369" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><iframe height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145369/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1"></iframe>How a storm surge and high tide add up to coastal flooding. The COMET Program/UCAR and National Weather Service
<p><a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2680/new-study-finds-sea-level-rise-accelerating/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sea level rise</a> is another growing concern that influences storm surge.</p><p>As water warms, <a href="https://sealevel.nasa.gov/understanding-sea-level/global-sea-level/thermal-expansion" target="_blank">it expands</a>, and that has slowly raised sea level over the past century as <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global temperatures have risen</a>. Freshwater from melting of ice sheets and glaciers also adds to sea level rise. Together, they <a href="https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">elevate the background ocean height</a>. When a hurricane arrives, the higher ocean means storm surge can bring water further inland, to a more dangerous and widespread effect.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Climate Explained: What the World Was Like the Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were at 400ppm
12 July 2020
Climate
Marco Bottigelli / Moment / Getty Images
By James Shulmeister
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.
If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz
What was the climate and sea level like at times in Earth’s history when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was at 400ppm?
<p>The last time global carbon dioxide levels were consistently at or above 400 parts per million (ppm) was around <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14145" target="_blank">four million years ago</a> during a geological period known as the <a href="http://www.geologypage.com/2014/05/pliocene-epoch.html" target="_blank">Pliocene Era</a> (between 5.3 million and 2.6 million years ago). The world was about 3℃ warmer and sea levels were higher than today.</p><p>We know how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere contained in the past by studying ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. As compacted snow gradually changes to ice, it traps air in bubbles that contain <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology/article/enclosure-of-air-during-metamorphosis-of-dry-firn-to-ice/09D9C60A8DA412D16645E6E6ABC1892F" target="_blank">samples of the atmosphere at the time</a>. We can sample ice cores to reconstruct past concentrations of carbon dioxide, but this record only takes us back about a million years.</p><p>Beyond a million years, we don't have any direct measurements of the composition of ancient atmospheres, but we can use several methods to estimate past levels of carbon dioxide. One method uses the relationship between plant pores, known as stomata, that regulate gas exchange in and out of the plant. The density of these stomata is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/095968369200200109" target="_blank">related to atmospheric carbon dioxide</a>, and fossil plants are a good indicator of concentrations in the past.</p><p>Another technique is to examine sediment cores from the ocean floor. The sediments build up year after year as the bodies and shells of dead plankton and other organisms rain down on the seafloor. We can use isotopes (chemically identical atoms that differ only in atomic weight) of boron taken from the shells of the dead plankton to reconstruct changes in the acidity of seawater. From this we can work out the level of carbon dioxide in the ocean.</p><p>The data from four-million-year-old sediments suggest that <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2010PA002055" target="_blank">carbon dioxide was at 400ppm back then</a>.</p>Sea Levels and Changes in Antarctica
<p>During colder periods in Earth's history, ice caps and glaciers grow and sea levels drop. In the recent geological past, during the most recent ice age about 20,000 years ago, sea levels were at least <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/292/5517/679.abstract" target="_blank">120 meters lower</a> than they are today.</p><p><span></span>Sea-level changes are calculated from changes in isotopes of oxygen in the shells of marine organisms. For the Pliocene Era, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2004PA001071" target="_blank">research</a> shows the sea-level change between cooler and warmer periods was around 30-40 meters and sea level was higher than today. Also during the Pliocene, we know the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07867" target="_blank">significantly smaller</a> and global average temperatures were about 3℃ warmer than today. Summer temperatures in high northern latitudes were up to 14℃ warmer.</p><p>This may seem like a lot but modern observations show strong <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/jcli/article/23/14/3888/32547" target="_blank">polar amplification</a> of warming: a 1℃ increase at the equator may raise temperatures at the poles by 6-7℃. It is one of the reasons why Arctic sea ice is disappearing.</p>Impacts in New Zealand and Australia
<p>In the Australian region, there was no Great Barrier Reef, but there may have been <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF02537376.pdf" target="_blank">smaller reefs along the northeast coast of Australia</a>. For New Zealand, the partial melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is probably the most critical point.</p><p>One of the key features of New Zealand's current climate is that Antarctica is cut off from global circulation during the winter because of the big <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3402/tellusa.v54i5.12161" target="_blank">temperature contrast</a> between Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. When it comes back into circulation in springtime, New Zealand gets strong storms. Stormier winters and significantly warmer summers were likely in the mid-Pliocene because of a weaker polar vortex and a warmer Antarctica.</p><p>It will take more than a few years or decades of carbon dioxide concentrations at 400ppm to trigger a significant shrinking of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. But recent studies show that <a href="http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/521027/" target="_blank">West Antarctica is already melting</a>.</p><p>Sea-level rise from a partial melting of West Antarctica could easily exceed a meter or more by 2100. In fact, if the whole of the West Antarctic melted it could <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.7239&rep=rep1&type=pdf" target="_blank">raise sea levels by about 3.5 meters</a>. Even smaller increases raise the risk of <a href="https://www.pce.parliament.nz/publications/preparing-new-zealand-for-rising-seas-certainty-and-uncertainty" target="_blank">flooding in low-lying cities</a> including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.</p>From Your Site Articles
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The Community Flood Watch Project is collecting resident reports of flooding in Jamaica Bay, Queens. Bjoertvedt / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
Many of New York City's coastal residents are plagued by flooding – during storms and on sunny days.
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/15824204/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>"There are certain times of the year associated with the new and full moons where it brings higher-than-normal high tides. And with that, those tides can bring flooding into communities," says Helen Cheng, a former coastal resilience extension specialist with <a target="_blank" href="https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer">New York Sea Grant</a> and with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.srijb.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Science and Resilience Institute</a>.</p><p>She says in the Jamaica Bay watershed, flooding can block access to the subway station that people need to get to work from day to day.</p><p>"Even services, sometimes – you know, the delivery of mail – can get impacted by water on the streets."</p>
<p>Cheng says tidal flooding is getting worse as sea levels rise, and it's important to know how people are affected. So as part of the Community Flood Watch Project, residents document and report flooding.</p><p>"There's a lot of value in on-the-ground information and community data, right? Because they're living in these places and experiencing these events 24/7," she says.</p><p>Cheng says the data improves flood warnings and sea-level-rise predictions, and it helps city leaders understand how flooding affects people's lives.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/09/new-york-city-residents-document-sea-level-rise-in-coastal-neighborhoods/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Earth Lost Over 30 Trillion Tons of Ice in Under 30 Years, Scientists 'Stunned' by Landmark Study
24 August 2020
Climate
Sea ice breaking up in Greenland. steve_is_on_holiday / E+ / Getty Images
The Earth has lost 28 trillion tonnes (approximately 31 trillion U.S. tons) of ice in just 23 years, and the climate crisis is largely to blame.
<p>The finding comes in a <a href="https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2020-232/" target="_blank">review paper</a> published in The Cryosphere this month that used satellite data and numerical modelling to calculate all the ice that melted worldwide between 1994 and 2017.</p><p>"In the past researchers have studied individual areas – such as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/antarctica" target="_self">Antarctic</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenland" target="_self">Greenland</a> – where ice is melting. But this is the first time anyone has looked at all the ice that is disappearing from the entire planet," study coauthor and director of Leeds University's Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling Andy Shepherd told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/23/earth-lost-28-trillion-tonnes-ice-30-years-global-warming" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "What we have found has stunned us."</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic" target="_self">Arctic</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-ice" target="_self">sea ice</a>, Antarctic ice shelves, mountain <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glaciers" target="_self">glaciers</a>, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and Southern Ocean sea ice all lost mass during the study period, the researchers wrote. About 68 percent of those losses were caused by warmer air temperatures, while the remaining 32 percent were caused by warmer <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean" target="_self">ocean</a> water.</p><p>"There can be little doubt that the vast majority of Earth's ice loss is a direct consequence of climate warming," the researchers wrote, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>In fact, the total ice loss recorded matches the worst-case scenario predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). And it's likely to get worse. The researchers prognosticate a meter (approximately three feet) of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a> by 2100.</p><p>"To put that in context, every centimetre of sea level rise means about a million people will be displaced from their low-lying homelands," Shepherd told The Guardian.</p><p>But sea level rise isn't the only consequence of ice melt. For one thing, the melting ice exposes darker ocean waters or soil, which absorb the sun's heat rather than reflect it, increasing global heating. The fresh water melting from ice sheets also disrupts Arctic and Antarctic ocean ecosystems, while the loss of mountain glaciers threatens the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" target="_self">drinking water</a> of several communities.</p><p>"What more can be said? What further evidence are we waiting for?" UK Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas tweeted in response to the news. "Feel so overwhelmingly sad - and so angry too. We can't say we didn't know. Are we really saying we just didn't care?"</p>
<div id="820ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc5cc2d33d34204b11a78693091a1afe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1297470664031588352" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">What more can be said? What further evidence are we waiting for?
Feel so overwhelmingly sad - and so angry too
W… https://t.co/cvYV9ore53</div> — Caroline Lucas (@Caroline Lucas)<a href="https://twitter.com/CarolineLucas/statuses/1297470664031588352">1598176086.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>This has been a bad summer for ice news. Another study <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greenland-ice-sheet-melting-2647005347.html" target="_self">published this month</a> found that Greenland's ice sheet had reached the "point of no return" and would continue to melt even if the climate crisis were halted. A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greenland-ice-melt-2019-2647049163.html" target="_self">third study</a> found that Greenland lost a record amount of ice in 2019.</p>
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Arctic sea ice in the Denmark Strait on the east coast of Greenland. NASA
The records of Greenland's ice melt date back to 1948 and nothing in that record compares to what happened in 2019. The amount of ice lost was more than double what it has been any year since 2013. The net ice loss in 2019 clocked in at more than 530 billion metric tons for 2019. To put that in context, that's as if seven Olympic-sized swimming pools were dumped into the ocean every second of the year, according to The Guardian.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The new study, which used NASA satellite data to measure the size of Greenland's ice, found that in July alone, Greenland lost 223 billion tons of ice. That means for that one month, it lost what it normally loses in an entire year, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/climate/greenland-ice-loss-climate-change.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>The study was published Thursday in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-0010-1,"><em>Communications Earth and Environment</em></a>. It follows a trend of troubling news coming out of Greenland. Another new study published in the same journal found that even if the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> stopped today, Greenland's ice sheet is so diminished it will never recover, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greenland-ice-sheet-melting-2647005347.html">EcoWatch</a> reported earlier this week. That study found the ice is retreating in rapid bursts and may portend an ominous revision of predictions of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise">sea level rise</a>.</p>
<p>This new study also spells trouble for coastal cities as it may force scientists to revise their predictions to match the accelerated pace of ice melt, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-arctic/greenlands-ice-sheet-saw-record-mass-loss-in-2019-study-finds-idUSKBN25G1RM" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported. The island's ice sheet holds enough water to raise sea levels by 20 feet, or six meters, if it were to melt away completely.</p><p>"We are likely on the path of accelerated sea level rise," said Ingo Sasgen, a glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and co-author of the study, to Reuters. "More melting of the ice sheet is not compensated by periods when we have extreme snowfall.</p><p>"What this shows is that the ice sheet is not only out of balance but it's increasingly likely to produce more and more extreme loss years," he added, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/weather/greenland-ice-sheet-melt-climate-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>Sasgen noted that 2010 and 2012 were also years with massive amounts of melting and he expects more are in the not-too-distant future.</p>
<p>"The real message is that the ice sheet is strongly out of balance," Sasgen said, as The Guardian reported. "If we look at the record melt years, the top five occurred in the last 10 years, and that is a concern. But we know what to do about it: reduce CO2 emissions."</p><p>Greenland's ice sheet is the second largest in the world, behind Antarctica's. CNN notes that the amount of ice it loses everywhere will start to increase sea level beyond the one millimeter it adds annually, pointing out that planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions are the culprit. And all that warming is creating a dangerous feedback loop.</p><p>"This extreme melt kicks off feedbacks that may accelerate the mass loss. This is what is worrying, the extremes are increasing and we understand too little about how the ice sheet will respond to more extreme climate variability," Sasgen said, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>The amount of melting that's happening means trouble for the hundreds of millions of people that live along coastlines, but there is still time for them to retreat inland. The ice sheet will likely not melt entirely since the rate of melt tends to slow down as the ice retreats from warmer <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> waters. Furthermore, the centuries it will take to melt completely gives us some time to reverse course on emissions, according to The Guardian.</p><p>"If we reduce CO2, we will reduce Arctic warming and we will therefore also reduce the sea level rise contribution from the Greenland ice sheet," Sasgen said, as The Guardian reported. "So even though it might eventually disappear in large part, it happens much slower, which would be better as it would allow more time for the 600 million people living near coasts to move away."</p>
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Antarctica and Greenland Raised Sea Levels More Than Half an Inch in Just 16 Years, New NASA Data Shows
01 May 2020
Climate
Greenland's fast-melting Kangerdlugssup glacier. NASA / Jim Yungel
Greenland and Antarctica have raised global sea levels by more than half an inch in the last 16 years, according to data from the most advanced laser that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has ever launched into space to observe the earth.
<p>While the figures themselves are consistent with other studies, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/30/climate/antarctica-ice-climate-change.html?campaign_id=51&emc=edit_MBE_p_20200501&instance_id=18124&nl=morning-briefing&regi_id=88631294&section=whatElse&segment_id=26351&te=1&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>, the satellite laser allows researchers a much more precise picture of how polar ice is changing over time, which helps determine the role of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> and plan for future <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a>.</p><p>"We've all been waiting for this new dataset," Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory research professor Robin Bell <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/30/848398472/antarctica-and-greenland-are-losing-thousands-of-gigatons-of-ice-thats-a-lot?utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR2t-fTSchEfWMFJe_R91Jy86koAqTfmGlewTvq9eG6z0lzpdM1w8GjogGY" target="_blank">told NPR</a>.</p>
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<p>The study, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/29/science.aaz5845" target="_blank">published in Science Thursday</a>, combines data from two NASA satellites: the original Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which took measurements from 2003 to 2009, and ICESat-2, launched in 2018. The two satellites allowed researchers to measure changes in ice mass from 2003 to 2019, and to calculate that Greenland and Antarctica contributed 0.55 inches to sea level rise during that time. That's around a third of the global total, which was also driven by the expansion of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a> as they warm, NPR explained.</p><p>"If you watch a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glaciers" target="_self">glacier</a> or ice sheet for a month, or a year, you're not going to learn much about what the climate is doing to it," University of Washington glaciologist and lead study author Ben Smith said in a <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2981/nasa-space-laser-missions-map-16-years-of-ice-sheet-loss/?fbclid=IwAR0vi9r5VM03t_d9hDoceJSHkeEsxDtzOIApDy3x4TniEx4UowY02_j-bSM" target="_blank">NASA press release</a>. "We now have a 16-year span between ICESat and ICESat-2 and can be much more confident that the changes we're seeing in the ice have to do with the long-term changes in the climate."</p>
<p>The data also revealed that Greenland's ice sheet lost an average of 200 gigatons of ice per year and Antarctica's lost an average of 118. That's more than 5,000 gigatons total, NPR reported. To put that in perspective, one gigaton is enough to fill 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.</p><p>But the satellite data also helped show how the ice was being lost. In Antarctica, the East actually gained mass, probably because of increased precipitation, The New York Times reported. But this was offset by losses in West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. In West Antarctica, 30 percent of that loss was due to floating ice, which either calves icebergs or melts from below due to warm ocean water. While this ice cannot contribute directly to sea level rise because it is already floating, its loss destabilizes the so-called "grounded ice" that can.</p><p>"It's like an apple tart and the ice shelves are like the wall of pastry around the edges of the tart," Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego glaciologist and study coauthor Helen Fricker explained to NPR. "And if those walls are too thin or they're not baked well enough, then the filling will ooze out."</p><p>In Greenland, two thirds of the ice loss was due to surface melting, something that rarely occurs in Antarctica, The New York Times said. Greenland also lost a lot of mass from its coastal glaciers, according to NASA. Its Kangerdulgssuaq and Jakobshavn glaciers have shrunken by 14 to 20 feet per year.</p>
<p>NASA explained why its satellites were able to provide such a detailed portrait:</p><blockquote>ICESat-2's instrument is a laser altimeter, which sends 10,000 pulses of light a second down to Earth's surface, and times how long it takes to return to the satellite – to within a billionth of a second. The instrument's pulse rate allows for a dense map of measurement over the ice sheet; its high precision allows scientists to determine how much an ice sheet changes over a year to within an inch.<br><br>The researchers took tracks of earlier ICESat measurements and overlaid the tracks of ICESat-2 measurements from 2019, and took data from the tens of millions of sites where the two data sets intersected. That gave them the elevation change, but to get to how much ice has been lost, the researchers developed a new model to convert volume change to mass change. The model calculated densities across the ice sheets to allow the total mass loss to be calculated.</blockquote><p>This level of detail is essential for helping coastal residents and governments plan for sea level rise, which is expected to reach two to six feet by 2100, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/30/climate-change-antarctica-greenland-ice-melt-raised-sea-levels-by-half-inch-in-last-16-years.html" target="_blank">according to CNBC</a>.</p><p>"Our goal is to be able to tell every coastal community what they can plan on [in] the coming decades," Bell told NPR. "To be able to do that, we both need to measure how the ice is changing but also understand better why it's changing."</p>
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Antarctica before and after its hottest day on record Feb. 6. NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and GEOS-5 data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC.
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