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Climate change could have an even worse impact on Boston than previously expected - T... Page 3 of 22
As ice melts (^^^^outh Pole, the resulting gravitational pull on the
ocean, as well as the gradual sinking of land in the Northeast, means
that Boston and other nearby communities are likely to experience about
25 percent higher increase of sea levels than other parts of the planet,
according to the new research.
"Boston is a bull's-eye for more sea level damage," said Rob DeConto, a
climate scientist at UMass Amherst who helped develop the new
Antarctica research and who co-wrote the new Boston report. "We have
a lot to fear from Antarctica."
If high levels of greenhouse gases continue to be released into the
atmosphere, the seas around Boston could rise as much as 10.5 feet by
2100 and 37 feet by 2200, according to the report.
Even under optimistic forecasts that factor in significant cuts to carbon
emissions, sea levels are projected to rise as much as 6 feet by 2100 and
nearly 12 feet by 2200.
Such a dramatic rise would be devastating to Boston. Faneuil Hall, for
example, now floods at 5 feet and Copley Square at 7.5 feet above today's
high tides, city officials say.
"If seas rise that much, the New England coastline would look very
different from space," said DeConto, referring to the worst-case
scenarios. "There would be huge impacts on our ecosystems, and we
would be talking about a managed retreat from the coastline rather than
engineering a way to harden our coastline."
App. 445
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/22/climate-change-could-have-even-worse-im... 8/1/2016