A few folks covered the king tides along Carlsbad and Oceanside over Dec. 3-5. These events are a preview of what is to come with rising sea levels due to climate change. Sea level rises as a result of melting glaciers/sea ice and thermal expansions of the oceans. Over the last 130 years the ocean’s temperature has increased by about 1.8°F. This translates into about a rise of 11 cm. By 2100 an additional 15-22 cm rise can be expected for Carlsbad (from their Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment).
The picture above, kindly supplied by J. Cannon, shows a very mild effect due to calm oceans and Santa Ana winds blowing against the waves. Nevertheless, you can see the impact during the king tides on the right compared with the low tide photo on the left. To view more photos from throughout California’s coast visit california.kingtides.net.
Cities along the coastline of California are mandated to develop their plans for sea level rise. Do you know what your city is doing?
