Rising Sea Levels: New York City

1. Rising Sea Levels: New York City Andrea Sunara

2. Global Warming • Global climate change is a direct cause of the changes in atmospheric composition caused by humans, especially due to emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases

3. Rise in Sea Levels • An effect of climate change and global warming is the rise in sea levels due to the melting of the ice sheets and glaciers. • With increases in ocean temperatures and the melting of the ice sheets, rising sea levels could lead to alteration of much of the world’s coastline

4. New York City • The New York City area has more than 2400 km of shoreline susceptible to the rising sea levels. • In NYC the sea level rate has been rising at a rate of about 2.73 mm per year • The greater NYC area encloses a system of waterways that are affected by tides and the weather. Much of the greater New York region is not even three meters above sea level.

5. It Has Happened Before • Hurricane Donna flooded a large part of downtown Manhattan in 1960 with 10-foot high tides. The water was hip deep at the corner of Vesey and West Sts. where the W.T.C. was later built. • The Ash Wednesday nor’easter that hit New York City March 6-7, 1962 was especially damaging because it lasted for five tidal cycles and caused over 2.1 meters of flooding, particularly in lower Manhattan’s Battery area.

6. New York City Subway • Rising sea levels would be damaging to the New York City subway system due to flooding. • Heavy rains already can flood the NYC subway, yet alone a heavy storm and high sea levels.

7. New York City was ranked second for the most total economic loss that would be caused if a hurricane hit.

8. Lower Manhattan is most at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and potential storms.

9. The next set of slides are screen shots of lower Manhattan being affected by the rising sea levels.(If you click through them fast it looks like an animation)

23. Some Pictures From “The Day After Tomorrow”