lightblueline

In a report just released from the National Academy of Sciences, NASA researchers (and lightblueline painter, Dr. David Lea) are warning that the Earth may be on the brink of a climate not seen for a million years--a time when the oceans were 80 feet higher than today. "We conclude that global warming of more than 1°C, relative to 2000, will constitute "dangerous" climate change as judged from likely effects on sea level and extermination of species."

Say goodbye to SBA, and Hello to ISLA Vista. No Vista required, it's now an island!
Data by Keith Goodman, UCSB; Map layer by Google Maps; Mapping of data to map by Hajime Narahara, New Media Studio

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports in the last decade or so have been predicting the potential for a modest sea level rise, and a possibility of more rapid sea level rise after the 21st century. More recent studies, based on new satellite information and on-site observations in Greenland and elsewhere suggest that the rapid sea-level rise scenario may be more likely than previously thought. Note: IPCC climate models do not account for prior instances of rapid sea-level change (source: See link below for Hansen, James.2006."The Threat to the Planet: Actions Required to Avert Dangerous Climate Change").

The recent ice-melt observations and other recent data interpretations are hitting the scientific literature.

The climate of the near future appears to resemble the climate from long ago, a time when the oceans were a lot larger than they are today...

This is from:

Science 24 March 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5768, pp. 1747 - 1750
DOI: 10.1126/science.1115159

"Sea-level rise from melting of polar ice sheets is one of the largest potential threats of future climate change. Polar warming by the year 2100 may reach levels similar to those of 130,000 to 127,000 years ago that were associated with sea levels several meters above modern levels; both the Greenland Ice Sheet and portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet may be vulnerable. The record of past ice-sheet melting indicates that the rate of future melting and related sea-level rise could be faster than widely thought."

A new study by scientists at Columbia University and in London reveals the extent to which sea level rise threatens the global population. This study (see: file attached) finds 600 million people living between sea level and ten meters in elevation, and 25 million of these are in North America. More than half of the population of Vietnam is included, as well as the entire population of the Maldives.