About rising sea levels 16

[hokie66]

A shipbuilder give a reason for the few millimetres of rise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPNhTVicEe4

 

[JoshPlumSE]

the recorded wildfires are more prevalent in the western states, which also mostly correlates with rainfall. Even in Washington, the western side of the state has fewer wildfires than the drier, eastern side of that state. California, for the most part, would be considered to be "coastal desert" and its agrobusiness wouldn't even exist if not for the heavily irrigated Central Valley

Thank you!! I really appreciate this post. Your reasoning makes a ton of sense. I was thinking specifically about Oregon and Washington vs California. But, the argument of a combination of Federal Forests AND drier weather conditions is utterly compelling.

 

[1503-44]

Whatever the cause, lightening, arson .. whatever. Those causes are nothing new, but supervises are. The fires build to superfires and go on and on due to the reduced and now extremely low relative humidities that have been sucking the water out of the soil for years. The effect is worse in the states experiencing desertification.

Read it the link I posted above.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211105114305.htm

 

[TugboatEng]

Was the Dust Bowl a result of human caused climate change?

California has a long history of drought. There is nothing new or unprecedented about what is happening.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01...ve-lasted-more-than-200-years-scientists-say/

The studies such as the one you linked look at too narrow of a time window to be meaningful. That timeframe encompasses one wet period followed by one dry period. I don't think any conclusions can be drawn from that.

Take all such studies with a grain of salt. A study that says there is nothing to see will gain no attention or funding.

 

[GregLocock]

The same can be said of Australia's droughts and fires. The reason we get headlines these days is not because they are any worse than back in 1850-1940, but simply that there are more people affected and more cameras and it makes good TV.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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Whatever the cause, lightening, arson .. whatever.

These are not the cause, they are only the spark.
The causes include longterm wildfire suppression resulting in tinder (fuel) accumulation. Everything is magnified by global heating and changes in weather patterns.

People are being more affected because people live where they should not - mountains, river valleys, deserts, coasts. Human activity is the biggest factor in surface water depletion as well as western aquifers. Lawn watering restrictions will not help California, Phoenix or Las Vegas overcome a hard natural limit on available water, a limit that is declining while humans keep on building.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Lawn watering restrictions will not help California, Phoenix or Las Vegas overcome a hard natural limit on available water, a limit that is declining while humans keep on building.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. But, I will add that if we would just accept the idea that reclaimed water (when processed correctly) is fine to drink and shower with then we'd have a crap ton more water in California. But, people have this strong aversion to it.

 

[TugboatEng]

I don't know if reclaimed water is the right choice. Desalinating clean ocean water leaves a waste brine that can be returned to the ocean. Desalinating polluted water creates concentrated pollutants which now have to be disposed of. Dilution is the solution to pollution.

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Tug -

Desalination helps communities that have access to the ocean. But, any community with a waste water processing plant can do reclaimed water. Plus, the relative cost difference between treating waste water to be drinkable vs what's required to release into streams is pretty small. Desalination has never been very cost effective in California. It might get there. But, it's not there yet.

 

[GregLocock]

Desal water costs about double compared with locally acquired fresh water, at the point of delivery, at about $2 per ton. For comparison if I have drinking water trucked in then it is about $7 per ton.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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[ACtrafficengr]

Is subsidence not a possibility?

As I said, we're near the inflection point for glacial rebound and subsidence. To the south, the earth's crust is subsiding. To the north, it's rebounding. I should have mentioned it's founded on bedrock, so consolidation isn't a factor.

My glass has a v/c ratio of 0.5

Maybe the tyranny of Murphy is the penalty for hubris. -

http://xkcd.com/319/

 

[rb1957]

I'd've thought the subsidence (or rebound) was a local thing, ie different regions subsiding whilst others rebound.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?

 

[ACtrafficengr]

It depends on the cause of the movement. A lot of places are subsiding due to groundwater or petroleum extraction, for example.

Thousands of years ago, the weight of continental glaciers caused the Earth's crust to tilt. It deflected downward in most of Canada and extreme northern CONUS. Farther south, this caused the crust to bulge upward. The crust is still rebounding, causing Canada to rise, and Virginia to sink.

The combination of glacial subsidence and sea level rise is causing all sorts of issues at the US Navy bases in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, like blue sky flooding during full and new moon high tides.

My glass has a v/c ratio of 0.5

Maybe the tyranny of Murphy is the penalty for hubris. -

http://xkcd.com/319/

 

[TugboatEng]

AC, thank you for that very interesting graphic and description.

 

[1503-44]

Yes, nobody is arguing that fire requires an ignition source. It is not the cause of ignition that has changed, it's the burn process. The fuel has become more combustible. (Bigger, hotter fire.)

One question. Why is Florida rising? Florida never had glaciers.

 

You can't reclaim evaporated water, except to wait for rain, and those waits are getting longer. Maybe almond trees (etc.) have something to do with it? We've known for longer than there have been hockey sticks that hauling iceberg lettuce by diesel trucks 3000 miles to NY is unsustainable.

And what's glacial rebound got to do with global heating? Except for the effect on the population of red herrings in the Great Lakes that is? (Don't worry, that species is nowhere near being threatened.)

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."