Climate change is a ever present aspect of our ever changing world. With climate change comes a multitude of effects. One, namely, is the melting of ice. According to the United States Geological Survey, 69% of all the Earth's freshwater which equals to about 1.75% of all Earth's water is located in the ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. The melting of these reservoirs will result in a significant increase of the worlds water supply. So, the question is, where would all of that water go? The ocean that is. If the ice reservoirs begin to melt, even a small amount, all of the excess water will flow into the ocean.
Global oceans temperatures are on the rise along with air temperatures. This raise in water temperature changes the density and volume of the water, making it take up more space. This chemical phenomenon along with the input of extra water will raise the sea level.
This study analysis (1) the extent to which the sea with grow to in the event of a 1 m, 3 m, and 6 m rise along the Gulf Coast of the United States and (2) the number of people per state along the Gulf Coast that will be displaced from their homes.
Methodology
Two main data sets were used for this analysis, sea level rise and population. The sea level rise data used was provided and downloaded from Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) sea level rise maps. Population data was acquired from the United States Census Bureau's fact finder application. Population data for affected area was calculated by first, extracting the counties that will be affected by 1 m, 3 m, and 6 m sea level rise. The population density was calculated for each county by normalizing population of the county with total county area. Number of individuals affected by each level of sea rise was found by multiplying the population density of each county by the area affected for the county by sea level rise, assuming that population density was uniform throughout the entire county.
Results
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Conclusions
The land affected by each level of sea rise is displayed. Using visual interpretation, Florida has the greatest amount of land affected by sea rise, but a significant amount of the land lost is in the Everglades national park. Florida was also found the have the largest amount of people displaced by sea level rise. This is partly in large part due to the fact that a good amount of Florida's large cities, such as Miami, Panama City, and Pensacola, are located near the shore.
