Tropical blue ocean with white sand and stones underwater — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Wonderful Nature
According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projection graphic, sea levels rising above a particular point will significantly alter Florida’s coastline terrain.
According to experts, a 10-foot rise in sea level might occur in the future, and the map shows how many communities and beaches in the state would be under water.
William Butler, a professor in Florida State University’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning, told Newsweek that while a rise of 10 feet, or slightly less than 3 meters, is “quite low this century,” a rise of 2 to 3 meters is “not out of the question in the next century and increasingly likely without significant curbing of greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Given the limited progress we seem to be making on that front, we are heading in the wrong direction,” he stated.
Why It’s Important
Rising sea levels are caused by a number of processes, including melting glaciers and ice caps that increase water volume and raise global temperatures due to increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Given that “a certain amount of sea level rise is already baked into the climate system with current greenhouse gas levels,” there is growing concern that even if nations prioritized lowering greenhouse gas emissions today, there would be “potentially centuries of continued sea level rise,” claimed Butler.
“In some ways, the question we should be asking is, how much can we slow this process and how much time does that buy us to get ready for several meters of sea level rise,” he stated. “Rather than asking ‘how high’, we might need to be asking ‘when?'”
Which Florida cities and beaches would be impacted?
Florida is one of the states that will be most affected by a 10-foot rise in sea levels, according to NOAA’s graphic, with a large portion of its well-known coastline and beaches going under.
Butler Beach, Flagler Beach, Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Bethune Beach, Jensen Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Holmes Beach, Barefoot Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Horseshoe Beach, Keaton Beach, and numerous other beaches would probably vanish.
The state’s cities would also be under water, including Hollywood, Naples, Venice, Sarasota, Tarpon Springs, Crystal River, Cedar Key, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Port Orange, Melbourne, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, and Panama City.
A ten-foot rise in sea level would also submerge a large portion of the state’s southern countryside and many animal sanctuaries.
The Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Key West National Wildlife Refuge, National Key Deer Refuge, Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park would all be inundated with water.
Additionally, Pine Island off the coast of Florida would be under water.
The Effects of a Sea Level Rise of Ten Feet
A 10-foot rise in sea level, according to Butler, would be “devastating to coastal cities in the U.S., especially in the Gulf, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic states but New York and Boston too,” and Miami would turn into “an archipelago.”
He predicted that stormwater infrastructure as well as water and sewage systems will “fail,” and that “roads will be underwater, bridges will be cut off at entrance ramps, subway systems will be flooded, high-rise buildings will be columns surrounded by water, and municipal budgets will be stretched or cities will go bankrupt as property taxes become less and less viable as a way to collect revenue and fund adaptation projects.”
He went on to predict that Americans will probably be uprooted from coastal regions as well, creating the possibility of “millions moving from coastal cities in the Southeast to anywhere they can find viable employment, family connections, or other reasons to take them to a new city.”
“The impacts are already reshaping coastal cities,” Butler said, even before the sea level rose by 10 feet. “Low-lying areas are already flooding more frequently, even on sunny days.”
According to him, the insurance industry is also quickly adapting to the new reality, with many businesses “abandoning the most at-risk markets like Florida and Louisiana.”
According to him, the intrusion of salt water into freshwater wells is another significant problem that is driving up salt levels to the point that wells must be closed in some places.
“This is all happening now, with less than 1 foot of sea level rise in the last 120 years,” he stated. “10 feet would make what we’re dealing with now look like a walk in the park even though it is costing billions just to adapt to the current context.”
What Needs to Be Done?
Butler told Newsweek that planning should be prioritized moving ahead in order to map out different scenarios, identify regions of vulnerability, decide which areas to defend, and establish where future developments should be avoided.
Pumps and valves can be constructed to hold back sea water and pump out runoff, he said, and engineers can be used to elevate land, as is the case at Miami Beach, and refit and floodproof buildings and infrastructure.
According to Butler, lowering greenhouse gas emissions is also crucial. “The U.S. could take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by supporting economic investment and business development in alternative energy technologies, reforestation projects, carbon capture technologies, and other ways to reduce existing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
“While this will not stop sea level rise in the next few centuries, it will slow it, and it will bring the peak number lower, reducing the longer term impacts to coastal cities,” he stated.
However, he added, funding is a significant obstacle to all of these initiatives. “A concerted effort on the part of the federal government to support and expand these efforts could accelerate them.”
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.