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New Research Underscores Vulnerability of Wildlife in Low-Lying Hawaiian Islands

By Guest PostDecember 7, 2012Environment, Natureblack footed albatross, bonin petrel, climate change, crystal m krause, curt storlazzi, global sea level, habitat loss, island biodiversity, jamie carter, karen n courtot, kure atoll, laysan albatross, laysan island, low lying island, michelle h reynolds, migratory wildlife species, model, multifaceted assessment, national wildlife refuge, northwestern hawaiian islands, nwhi, over fished ocean, pacific ocean, paul berkowitz, prediction, sea-level rise, topographic data, trend, tropical seabird rookery, U.S. Geological Survey, wave action, World Heritage Site

HONOLULU, Hawaii — If current climate change trends continue, rising sea levels may inundate low-lying islands across the globe, placing island biodiversity at risk. A new U.S. Geological Survey scientific publication describes the first combined simulations of the effects of sea-level rise and wave action in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, offering the most detailed and multifaceted assessment available of how island biodiversity may be affected by climate change.

The publication, “Predicting Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability of Terrestrial Habitat and Wildlife of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,” by Michelle H. Reynolds, Paul Berkowitz, Karen N. Courtot, Crystal M. Krause, Jamie Carter, and Curt Storlazzi is available online. (more…)

New Map Reveals Giant Fjords Beneath East Antarctic Ice Sheet

By Guest PostJune 4, 2011Environmentairborne geophysical instruments, antarctic ice sheet, Antarctica, aurora subglacial basin, australia, computer modelers, dc 3 aircraft, donald blankenship, duncan young, earth, east antarctic ice sheet, east antarctica, fjords, global sea level, high resolution topographic map, ice cut channels, ice penetrating radar, icecap, icecap project, investigating the cryospheric evolution of the central antarctic plate, sea level, sea level fluctuations, texas, university of texas at austin, world war

AUSTIN, Texas — Scientists from the U.S., U.K. and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to create the first high-resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora Subglacial Basin, an immense ice-buried lowland in East Antarctica larger than Texas.

The map reveals some of the largest fjords or ice cut channels on Earth, providing important insights into the history of ice in Antarctica. The data will also help computer modelers improve their simulations of the past and future Antarctic ice sheet and its potential impact on global sea level. (more…)

After a Three-Decade Hiatus, Sea-Level Rise May Return to the West Coast

By Guest PostMay 4, 2011Environmentart miller, beach erosion, coastal sea level rise, eastern north pacific ocean, el niño, extreme wave conditions, global sea level, global warming, guillermo auad, high tides, pacific decadal oscillation, pacific ocean climate cycle, pdo, peter bromirski, reinhard flick, rising sea level, scripps institution of oceanography, sea level, storm surges, west coast, west coast of north america, wetlands inundation

WASHINGTON — The West Coast of North America has caught a break that has left sea level in the eastern North Pacific Ocean steady during the last few decades, but there is evidence that a change in wind patterns may be occurring that could cause coastal sea-level rise to accelerate beginning this decade.

That is the conclusion of a new study that says that conditions dominated by cold surface waters along the West Coast could soon flip to an opposite state.

“There are indications that this is what might be happening right now,” says Peter Bromirski, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and lead author of a study now in press in the Journal of Geophysical Research–Oceans, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. (more…)

Tag Archives: global sea level

New Research Underscores Vulnerability of Wildlife in Low-Lying Hawaiian Islands

New Map Reveals Giant Fjords Beneath East Antarctic Ice Sheet

After a Three-Decade Hiatus, Sea-Level Rise May Return to the West Coast