Rising sea level already having impact in Florida.

My colleagues at the St Petersburg Times, Craig Pittman and Curtis Krueger, have a story in our paper today about a University of Florida study logging the rising sea level in Florida. It's "already causing profound environmental changes," the article quotes scientists saying. It also points to specific examples of where the impact has been observed, at Wacasassa State Park in Levy County, Rookery Bay Preserve near Naples, and the western side of Everglades National Park.

The sea level has been rising about an inch a decade in Tampa Bay since measurement began in the 1940s. But the pace is now accelerating. This could soon have an effect on the state's economy, especially tourism and sports fishing.

"If sea levels continue rising, adapting to this new geography will require major changes in Florida's lifestyle — and soon," the article warns.

By the way, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE) are holding a panel on the rising sea level on Monday in Miami. Click here for details.

Click here to read the article.

- David Adams

Comments

[paminator]

Check out the tide gauge trends for yourself at ttp://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_states.shtml?region=fl
The various Florida locations show trends over the last century of 1.5 - 2.5 mm per year. Also keep in mind that tide gauges measure the relative shift in sea level compared with land. If you measure a sea level change using tide gauges, it can be due to either the sea level going up, or the land surface subsiding down.

There is no recent acceleration if you look at decadal trends. There are a plethora of catastrophic changes in sea level (both up and down) on daily, weekly, monthly and annual bases, if that's the game you want to play. Global sea level began rising in the early 1800's as the globe slowly began warming up from the little ice age. This article sounds like a lame pitch for funding.