Floods, Fires, and Heat Domes (the climate change thread) (Part 1)

Something something red tide. Something something the red tide DeSantis is yearning for.

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TIL that Thwaites glacier in Western Antarctica isn’t the only one to worry about, apparently changes in Eastern Antarctica are just as worrying.

Most worrying is the shape of the land underneath the Denman glacier. A more detailed map of Antarctic bedrock in 2019 discovered that it flows over a canyon that drops 3.5km (2.1 miles) below sea level, the deepest point on continental Earth. Furthermore, this canyon reaches all the way to the coast, and unlike Totten, Denman has already begun retreating into it. As the glacier withdraws backward down the slope, more and more of its ice will be exposed to seawater. That could accelerate into a rapid and irreversible retreat, researchers fear.

There’s 5 feet of sea level rise in that chunk of ice. On the plus side, Florida politics would become a thing of the past… :thinking:

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See what 5ft of extra sea water does:

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Yikes, one place I was considering moving to in GA (west of Savannah) becomes waterfront property at 5 feet. :grimacing: My second and third choices look fine even at ten feet.

The rise in the number of climate refugees is the other major concern. We get articles here and there about residents of coastal areas or islands (in LA, TX, WA, and MD) forced to move. The increasing problems with finding potable water inland makes relocation even more difficult.

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With four feet of rise:


The Delaware is a tidal river. Even being inland isn’t completely safe.

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True, there are lots of areas that officials knew were swampland before they built on them. In the past ten years it looks like a mixture of parking lots and low income housing were set up to dominate that space. :woman_facepalming:t4:

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Effects to coastal highways, airports, railroads, ports will be some of the most significant changes aside from personal property damage and forced migration.

Just glancing at the 5ft change I see lots of critical roadways interrupted. Depending on where you look one should always add the high tide numbers on top of the 5ft change. Throw in a strong storm surge while you are at it.

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A ton of airports will go underwater. 24 with just a foot rise according to Brookings.

American Airlines said this in 2018:

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Congress will just add dirt to DCA. It’s their personal airport after all.

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I’m thinking we may have to go full Netherlands and floodgate some rivers. It would protect more than just the airports. For a time.

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You’re suggesting that we learn from a European country? What kind of an American Exceptionalist are you?

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I’m not sure we wouldn’t be better off fighting the source of the problem. Considering the past failures of Army Corp of Engineers’ projects (or alert methods) in multiple places, as well as what’s happening in Venice after MOSE was completed, it all highlights how complex each body of water tends to be. What works in one place might not necessarily save another, and the attempts are very expensive:

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Reference for all the arguments coming in the next year:

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old timers say that warmer temps also affect the brood of eggs. in warmer seasons, (they say) the eggs all hatch female.

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This is an actual thing:

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Apparently happens to humans, too: in stressful times, the balance skews towards girls rather than boys, presumably because we’re hardier and thus more likely to survive.

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Solving Sophie's choice

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