Sea Level Rise Vulnerability
September 13, 2001
Provided by: USEPA
Summary authors & editors: USEPA
James G. Titus and Charlie Richman of the US Environmental Protection Agency recently published a report and series of maps of lands vulnerable to sea level rise based upon modeled elevations along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Regions shown in red lie below 1.5 meters mean sea level and are some of the areas that could be flooded at high tide if global warming causes sea level to rise 2 feet in the next 100 years. The indicated areas account not only for the effects of global warming, but also for other effects such as tidal variations and land subsidence. Parts of the area depicted in red will remain above mean sea level for at least 100 years and probably 200 years. The 3.5-meter contour (blue) illustrates the area that might be flooded over a period of several centuries.
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