New studies show 'unprecedented' sea-level rise along the North Carolina coastBy Gareth McGrath USA Today Network, April 25th 2023
Sea levels are rising faster than what most scientists had expected - the World Meteorological Organization found that "global sea levels are rising at more than double the pace they did during the first decade of measurements from 1993 to 2002, and hit a new record high last year." Recent work at Tulane University and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William & Mary have shown the increase in SLR in these past few decades. |
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Photo by the National Parks Service
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Retreat in RodantheStory by Brady Dennis, March 13th 2023
The sea has taken yet another home along the coast of North Carolina. The outer banks community is home to some of the most rapid rates of erosion and regional SLR. More and more houses are at risk of collapse, and as their risk grows, fewer options are available to homeowners for these risky properties. Instead of solutions, homeowners are faced with just trying to by time until their property is eventually taken by the sea as well. There are disagreements on what can be done and who is responsible, some wanting to protect what they have with government support (e.g. beach nourishments) while others want to move away - which would be at their own cost. Both options come with repercussions that make the choice impossible. |
Worried about Sea Level Rise? Look for the Lichens.By Ian Rose February 28th, 2023
Knowing which coastal areas are at risk of SWISLR is a massive task that is at the top of many people's list. Lichen can potentially help identify areas that are at risk of increasing SWISLR. Roger Rosentreter and Ann DeBolt - botanists at Boise State University - have studied lichen communities at two state parks. The state park closer on a barrier island is subject to SWISLR, while the other is 500 meters inland. Rosentreter and DeBolt have started building a list of species that can withstand SWISLR and can be used as indicators for the presence of SWISLR. |
Left: the powdery medallion lichen is very sensitive to salt but is not a good indicator of whether a site has experienced the first effects of sea level rise. Photo by Vitaly Charny. Right: the ruffled blue jellyskin is also sensitive to salt, but its slow growth makes it a better indicator. Photo by David Bird
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Arthur Villator/Shutterstock
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Rising Sea Levels Are Threatening Affordable Housing. What Can Local Governments Do?By Nyla Holland January 18th, 2023
Sea Level Rise threatens coastal communities and ecosystems. Communities are already at risk to floods and storm inundation from the current sea level, with racial and economic legacies exacerbating the damages. Nyla Holland introduces 5 things that local governments can do to combat sea levels. 1) Determine the flood risk, 2) Develop resiliency with elevation, 3) Create gray and green infrastructure, 4) Implement zoning, buyout, and relocation programs, and 5) Engage community members. |
Rising sea levels could swamp the US coastline by 2050, NASA predictsBy Joe Phelan, November 30th 2022
A new study analyzing three decades of satellite data finds that sea level rise is accelerating. By 2050 sea levels could rise a foot above current waterlines. With new satellites gathering data our understanding of sea level rise is increasing. Some hope that findings like these will encourage decision-makers to focus on address the current climate crisis. |
Satellites such as the EUMETSAT/NASA-operated Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich carry advanced altimeters that allows it to make more precise measurements of global sea levels than its predecessors. (Image credit: ESA)
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Saltwater is moving up the Mississippi River. Here's what's being done to stop itby Debbie Elliott, October 27th 2022
Due to droughts in Louisiana, the salt wedge is moving further up the Mississippi river. The salt water is impacting municipal water and commercial water use. The US corps of engineers is planning to build an "underwater levee," aka. a berm of sand that will stop the saltwater from moving further upstream. |
'Ghost forests' are creeping across NC's coast at an alarming rate. Researchers are trying to stop them.by Jack Igelman, August 12th 2022
Ghost forests are spreading with climate change. The coastal area of North Carolina known as Down East is vulnerable to many climatic hazards. Duke doctoral candidate, Patrick Gray, has found that the evolution of ghost forest is "a slow-motion haunting, as the shifting ecological change occurs over months, years or decades." However, Down East residents don't see these shifts as a threat. Instead, "what people see as an existential threat are the problems of fish politics, development, getting priced our of their communities." This Carolina public press article goes on to state that the protection of vulnerable coasts needs to include the people who live and develop the landscape. |
“Lawns turning into marshes isn’t normal. We’re getting king tides more frequently, and now, when you don’t get a big storm, it seems rare. It used to be the other way around,” said Gloucester resident Barbara Garrity-Blake. Pictured here: A house with a stand of dead and living pines in the Down East community of Stacy, N.C. Jack Igelman / Carolina Public Press
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Photo from blog post. Sunset at Lake Mattamuskeet. Credit: Allie Stewart, US Fish & Wildlife Service
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Our Curious Coast: Adaptation and ResilienceBy Corey Davis and Sheila Saia, July 21st 2022
The last installment in a 5 part blog series. The blog series, created in partnership with NC State's Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Institute, shares the story of North Carolina's coastal plain. This installment closes out the series by looking at the changes eastern NC is facing and exploring the mitigation efforts already in place. |
Sand dunes experience significant erosion due to sea-level rise and extreme stormsBy Alan Williams, July 20th 2022
As sea levels rise sand dunes are moving landward. Due to coastal infrastructure, the migration of dunes is not possible in urban areas which may cause a loss of dune habitat. Researchers are surveying and modeling dune migration. A recent article found that Dunes have been retreating at an average rate of 0.5-1 m per year. |
Photo from phys org article. Researchers monitor the impact of Storm Lorenzo on the dunes at Crantock, North Cornwall, in 2019. Credit: Lloyd Russell, University of Plymouth
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Photo from WUNC article taken by Kristie Gianopulos. “Ghost forest” in Nags Head Woods, North Carolina, where saltwater intrusion puts low-lying freshwater ecosystems at risk. Access to photo and photo information here.
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As sea levels rise, coastal wetlands are expected to change dramaticallyBy Sophia Friesen, July 5th 2022
Researchers at the Wetland and Aquatic research center in Louisiana find that rising sea levels will cause widespread loss of coastal wetlands, especially in North Carolina. As sea levels rise, coastal wetlands will potentially move inland and take over freshwater wetlands as salt intrudes inland, while the original saltwater wetlands drown due to the higher sea levels. |
Research network to link environmental, social sciencesBy Jennifer Allen, June 15, 2022
An overview of our own SWISLR-RCN! The article explains that while a lot of the focus on coastal changes is on the wealthy fringe, this RCN instead focuses on the less empowered communities living in rural landscapes being impacted by SWISLR. The goal of this RCN is to "pull together researchers to study the problem of rural coastal climate change by linking environmental and social sciences." |
Photo from CoastalReview.org Article. A “ghost forest” in eastern North Carolina bears the signs of saltwater intrusion associated with rising sea levels. Photo: Mark Hibbs/Southwings
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Photo from Eurasia Review Article. Ghost forests—areas of trees recently killed by rising saltwater—are a clear sign of sea-level rise and marsh migration into rural land. CREDIT: Dr. Matt Kirwan/VIM
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Rural Areas Will Bear The Brunt Of US Sea-Level RiseBy Eurasia Review, June 15, 2022
A study by Grace Molino, a Ph.D. student at VIMS, Dr. Matt Kirwan at VIMS, U.S. Geological Survey researchers Joel Carr, and Neil Ganju of the Woods Hole Science Center finds that rural areas all along the U.S. coastline will suffer the highest impacts from sea level rise. |
Rising seas, salt water threaten coastal farms, so farmers adaptBy David Boraks and John Upton, June 13, 2022
Rural communities and coastal farmers are experiencing the issues caused by SWISLR in coastal North Carolina, causing new adaptation strategies to be implemented. |
Photo from the WFAE article. Barren areas of a field in Hyde County, where rising water levels and saltwater intrusion have made the land unproductive. Picture taken by David Boraks.
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Photo from the WUNC article taken by Kristie Gianopulos. Access to photo and photo information here.
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Rising tides and drainage ditches threaten North Carolina's coastal freshwater wetlandsBy Zachary Turner, June 9, 2022
Researchers are working hard to understand North Carolina's coastal wetlands and how the impacts of SWISLR are changing the coastline. |
Ghost forest: See ecological disaster hitting North Carolina shoreJun 5, 2022
CNN's Sara Sidner reports in North Carolina on the ecological disaster known as a "ghost forest" that is plaguing the state's shore. |
Still from CNN video
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Photos of ghost forests from the Washington Post article.
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The swift march of climate change in North Carolina’s ‘ghost forests’By Brady Dennis, May 12, 2022
As sea levels rise and storms become more intense, scientists are racing to study the rapid loss of trees and marshland along the Outer Banks |