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Ocean
Pacific Ocean - 2019
Cities at risk of sea-level rise in the coming decades:
St. Petersburg - FL
Virginia Beach - VA
Jersey City - NJ
Cambridge - MA
Redwood City - CA
Tampa - FL
Alameda - CA
Long Beach - CA
Stockton - CA
Galveston - TX
Los Angeles - CA
New Orleans - LA
San Diego - CA
New York - NY
Miami - FL
Boston - MA
Honolulu - HI
Fort Lauderdale - FL
Newport Beach - CA
San Mateo - CA
Hilton Head Island - SC
Huntington Beach - CA
Charleston - SC
Portland - OR
Seattle - WA
Ocean City - MD
Human-Caused Flooding
The number of human imposed coastal flood events has greatly increased since 1950 due to rising sea level.
Saltwater Intrusion
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Simply put, saltwater intrusion is the movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers. Rising sea levels, drought, and freshwater extraction are key factors contributing to this infiltration of seawater. Saltwater intrusion threatens drinking water, coastal agriculture, and natural wetlands.
Areas at Risk:
California, Florida,
Texas, Lousiana
"Ocean acidity has increased by 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This increase is 100 times faster than any change in acidity experienced by marine organisms for at least the last 20 million years"
-UNESCO
Ocean Acidification
National Geographic
Pteropod “Sea Butterfly” placed in estimated 2100 seawater pH for 45 days. Eaten by organisms ranging in size from krill to whales.
Ocean acidification threatens coral reefs through a phenomenon known as ‘Coral Bleaching’. Environmental stress turns coral white due to the expulsion of algae living in their tissues. Between 2014 and 2017, 75% of the world’s tropical coral reefs experienced bleaching (30% resulted in death).
Oysters, clams, sea urchins, and calcareous plankton are among the many calcifying species affected by ocean acidification. The weakening/extinction of these organisms negatively impacts entire food webs.