Enlight 21

Sea Level Rise

Author: Jake Kim | Category: Environment | Date: 09-21-2020

As this dreadful issue creeps closer towards our region, a vast majority of people have failed to confront it adequately. I am talking about sea-level rise, or the increase in the level of the world’s oceans. Sea-level rise is a threat to both humans and ecosystems, especially to those that are closer to shores, and will only exacerbate unless we get to the root of the problem.

So, what causes sea levels to rise?

Ice Melt: Ice melt from glaciers and ice sheets, specifically from Greenland and Antarctica, contribute a large amount of new water to the ocean. The main cause of ice melt is due to global warming, an issue that contributes to various other climate issues.
Thermal Expansion: Water expands when experiencing heat. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ocean temperatures rise by 0.13°C per decade. While this may not seem like a large difference, an ever so slight expansion of water due to heat is massive when taking into account the volume of water in oceans.
Land Sinkage: Sea levels rise as land sinks. This occurs due to our heavy reliance on groundwater. As the Earth is hollowed out, lands sink slowly but consistently. Also, the movement of tectonic plates causes some lands to sink, which further contributes to the coastlines’ susceptibility to sea-level rise.
Slowing of Ocean Currents: Ocean currents, especially the Gulf Stream, have slowed down. While many of its causes are disputed among experts, the addition of freshwater due to ice melt has certainly disrupted the flow of the currents. As the currents decrease in mobility, less water is swept away from shores.

These four main causes, as well as various minor underlying causes, give rise to an annual increase of about 3.3 millimeters per year.

Sea-level rise is a threat to nature.

While many coastal ecosystems are built to soak up a certain extent of water, sea levels have risen to the point where ecosystems are unable to manage the excess of water and drown. This heavily applies to the Bay Area, where the biodiversity of the marshlands is directly threatened by this issue, debasing the region’s resiliency to the current environmental crises as well as natural disasters.

Sea-level rise also threatens humanity.

The introduction of saltwater to water supplies and agricultural lands can completely contaminate those areas, rendering a key part of our consumption useless. Moreover, sea-level rise directly affects those who live in coastal areas. It threatens our cities and significant amenities such as airports, parks, and our homes.

Sea-level rise isn’t a problem because we haven’t acted against it.

It is a problem because we took incompetent approaches to combat it. Such solutions include levees, raised roads, seawalls, “natural” barriers at coastlines, upgraded sewage systems, and stormwater pumps. The problem with these solutions is that they are unnatural. Instead of getting rid of the problem, they force water to take an unnatural path, introducing unprecedented harm to nearby residents including ecosystems and people. While the Bay Area marshlands can withstand flooding to a certain extent, they are ultimately harmed by the excess of saltwater. Besides, these solutions only delay our imminent confrontation with sea-level rise. While they provide us more time to come up with better solutions to sea-level rise, they also decrease our environmental resiliency, ultimately passing a heavier burden onto younger generations. Lastly, these solutions are financially demanding to the taxpayers. On top of the cost of establishing artificial solutions, there is also the cost of maintaining them when they inevitably fail.

In the end, the only true solution to combat sea-level rise alongside other environmental issues is to improve our environmental habits. As stated before, three of the four main causes of sea-level rise can be attributed to global warming. Being more environmentally friendly (heeding all environmental warnings and being sustainable) may sound insubstantial, but it is a crucial task. In the current state of the environment, there are many positive feedback loops, in which our dire conditions further exacerbate our environmental circumstances. Sea-level rise is an inevitable issue, so we must take initiative to reverse it while we can.