Ocean Coastline

In the world that we live in today, there is no excuse that the problem of rising sea levels persists and endangers much of our coastal and island habitats. The Southeastern United States’ coastline specifically faces a unique challenge regarding this issue. There are various large cities that lie on the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts that have already started to suffer the impacts that comes along with this aspect of climate change. So what causes the ocean to continue rising? Two answers that seem to stand out are polar ice melting, therefore increasing the amount of water in the oceans, and the sinking of ground sediment. The latter reason is not as well emphasized, but still remains a pressing issue that our civilization needs to come face to face with. Along with the obvious rise in the ocean waters, coastal populations also face events brought on by nature such as hurricanes and storm surges. Although hurricanes and surges occur naturally, the intensity and frequency of them have dramatically increased over the years due to global warming. The signs have been evident. Take the year 2005, for example. In the Atlantic region, there were 28 recorded hurricanes and tropical storms, one of them being the infamous Katrina (National Hurricane Center). It hit
Since they both are located at sea level, they are more susceptible to face problems currently and in the near future. Each houses valuable infrastructure, such as roads, airports, rail systems, ship ports, water supplies, and oil and gas facilities. Damage to these, as well as schools, houses, and other buildings will have a severe economic impact. South Florida has already experienced ocean water flooding on main streets, challenging emergency management. It will continue to become more of a threat if the water moves more inland towards fresh water wells – the water supply will be at risk