8th July 2013

How America's West Coast will look when sea levels rise

In the not-too-distant future, rising sea levels threaten to inundate vast areas of the U.S. coast. Experts have agreed that a rise of between 0.5–1 m (1.6–3.3 ft) is likely by 2100. However, based on the latest available science, sea levels are rising faster than expected, there are critical feedbacks missing from models, and the effects of coastal erosion may have been greatly underestimated – all of which could accelerate this trend. The effects of melting permafrost have also been omitted from climate warming models.

Artist Nickolay Lamm – from self-storage search engine StorageFront.com – recently produced renderings to illustrate how Washington, Manhattan and other areas down the East Coast may be affected. He has now produced a second set, this time depicting the West Coast. Each location is shown in four scenarios – today, along with rises of 5, 12 and 25 ft. Maps are also included to show each camera's location and line of sight, together with sea levels. The methodology used for creating these images has been explained by Nickolay on his blog. Click to enlarge the thumbnails:

AT&T Park San Francisco Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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San Diego Convention Center Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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San Diego Coronado Island Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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San Francisco Crissy Field Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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San Francisco Crissy Field Up Close Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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Venice Beach Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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Venice Beach Board Walk Today 1.5 m (5 ft) 3.6 m (12 ft) 7.6 m (25 ft)

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