It seems like the Bay Area is one of the most at risk areas for rising Sea Levels in the Country.
14 min Quest/KQED Video from 2010 Going UP: Sea Level Rise in San Francisco Bay The Airport and Treasure Island singled out.
Visualizing California Climate Change
June 8, 2011 | 9:54 AM | By Gretchen Weber
An engrossing one-stop shop for California’s climate future goes online
If you’re like me, and you spend a good part of every day thinking about climate change and California, you may have already lost yourself in the treasure trove of climate data and mapping fun that is Cal-Adapt, a comprehensive series of online tools just released by the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission.
February 4, 2011 By Gretchen Weber
NASA’s Closer Look at the Bay Area
Taking global climate models and “downscaling” them for use at the local level is an ongoing challenge for scientists and for planners. But thanks to new climate projections from NASA, the Bay Area now has a sharper view of what may be in store.
Their results indicate that by 2050:
1) average temps could rise 2-4 degree F
2) sea level could rise 6-9 inches
3) precipitation could increase OR decrease up to 15%
4) days per year above 90 degrees F could increase from 8 to 15
Here's How San Francisco is Bracing for Sea Level Rise Estimated to Impact $48 Billion in Assets
By Zoe Sullivan
October 24, 2014 | 3:40 pm
San Francisco's Capital Planning Committee (CPC) has adopted what is being called the most comprehensive guidelines in the nation for preparing for the impacts of sea level rise on a city's infrastructure.
"This is the first time that I've seen a city really actively assessing the risks to new public investments," Jessica Grannis of Georgetown's Climate Center told VICE News.
The guidelines assume sea level rise of 11 inches, plus or minus 4 inches, by 2050 and as much as 66 inches by 2100.
San Francisco's Pacific coastline, the Embarcadero, a roadway and pedestrian promenade along the city's eastern and northern coastline, the Port of San Francisco, and the San Francisco International Airport already experience periodic flooding
San Francisco Rising to Threat of Swelling Seas
Published: October 23rd, 2014
By John Upton
The fog of uncertainty cast by rising seas is starting to lift from $25 billion worth of public projects planned in San Francisco.
The City by the (rising) Bay, where bayfront shorelines will continue to experience worsening high tide flooding, where the nearby international airport is among the nation’s most vulnerable to floods, and where Pacific Ocean shoreline erosion could be accelerated by sea level rise, has adopted a first-in-the-nation approach to assessing potential infrastructure risks posed by rising seas.
San Francisco Has No Plan For Rising Sea Levels By Mario Sevilla Published: June 25, 2014, 10:04 pm on Jun 25, 2014 KRON4
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) — San Francisco’s Civil Grand Jury issued a report this week on how rising sea levels will most likely affect San Francisco and what city agencies are doing to address the problem.
The Civil Grand Jury, a 19-member volunteer panel who serve for one year investigating various topics, found that there is no comprehensive response plan if major flooding occurs in San Francisco as a consequence of
climate change.
The jury, whose members were selected by the San Francisco Superior Court through an application process, found there are serious risks to city buildings and infrastructure, such as the wastewater treatment system, which includes three plants.
San Mateo County Most Vulnerable In State To Sea Level Rise
By Mario Sevilla Published: December 9, 2013, 10:18 pm KRON4
SAN MATEO (BCN) — A regional or countywide flood protection district dedicated to sea level disaster preparations should be assembled immediately, according to a group of nearly 400 people who packed a College of San Mateo auditorium today.
The group assembled to attend a four-hour conference titled “Meeting the Challenge of Sea Level Rise in San Mateo County,” which was presented by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, in conjunction with San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine and Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, who chairs the state select committee on Sea Level Rise and the California Economy.
Inundation and Coastal Communities
Causes
Episodic Coastal Inundation Events
There are four primary causes of significant inundation: storm surge, tsunamis, inland flooding, and shallow coastal flooding.
Storm Surge -
Tsunamis –
Inland Flood -
Shallow Coastal Flooding –
Longer-Term Coastal Inundation
Sea level rise is an increase in the mean level of the ocean. NOAA has been measuring mean sea level for over 150 years, with tide stations operating on all U.S. coasts.
Global (or eustatic) sea level rise -
Relative sea level rise -
Interactive Coastal Flooding Map - NOAA
Overpumping groundwater contributes to rising sea levels By Tom Knudson on 18 Mar 2015
Pump too much groundwater and wells go dry — that’s obvious.
But there is another consequence that gets little attention as a hotter, drier planet turns increasingly to groundwater for life support: So much water is being pumped out of the ground worldwide that it is contributing to global sea-level rise, a phenomenon tied largely to warming temperatures and climate change.
It happens when water is hoisted out of the earth to irrigate crops and supply towns and cities, then finds its way via rivers and other pathways into the world’s oceans. Since 1900, some 4,500 cubic kilometers of groundwater around the world — enough to fill Lake Tahoe 30 times — have done just that.
Taking Action on Sea Level Rise
SPUR takes a look at some of the efforts to build resilience and to adapt our shoreline to future sea levels. LAURA TAM ARTICLE April 10, 2014
The ART Project - What it is:
A public–private collaborative effort to help the Bay Area plan for and respond to sea level rise and storm events.
Why it stands out:
The Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) project pioneered sea level rise planning for a large section of the San Francisco Bay shoreline — creating both actionable strategies to build resilience in Alameda County, its first pilot location, and a model planning process that could be replicated in other parts of the Bay Area.
In 2011, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) in partnership with the NOAA Coastal Services Center launched the ART project in response to growing regional awareness of the existence of — and need to prepare for — sea level rise and storm events. The ART pilot project was established to conduct in-depth studies of local vulnerabilities, and to create replicable, collaborative planning tools to help Bay Area communities and organizations understand risks and develop actionable solutions.
Nationally:
the nation would lose more than 48,000 square miles of land, home today to 23.4 million people.
GLOBAL WARMING
Live Near Water? See Your Town Swallowed by Warming
JUL 10, 2015 07:00 AM ET // BY BENJAMIN STRAUSS, CLIMATE CENTRAL