vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\nsea level rise linked to global warming<\/h2>\n global temperatures are rising because of the heat-trapping effect of carbon dioxide emissions collecting in the atmosphere as we burn fossil fuels. warmer temperatures contribute to the warming of ocean water and the melting of freshwater held in land based ice \u2014 two factors that increase global sea levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe\u2019re making the world warmer \u2013 we have very high scientific confidence of that. when we warm the world, ocean water warms. warmer water takes up more space. that\u2019s sea level rise,\u201d said richard alley, professor of geosciences at pennsylvania state university. \u201cas we warm the world, mountain glaciers are melting, water that used to be on top of the alps is now in the ocean, that raises sea level.\u201d<\/p>\n
the warming of ocean water itself causes it to expand and rise more, because of the thermal or heat expansion property of water. this means that water takes up more space, or expands, as it heats up. water is unique in that it expands when it freezes, but it also expands incrementally once its temperature is above 4 degrees celsius, or about 39 degrees fahrenheit.<\/p>\n
the melting of mountain glaciers is contributing to the rise, but the worry is that the ice sheets over greenland and antarctica might melt quicker than expected and contribute to rapid increases in sea level rise, alley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cover the 20 years leading up to the most recent [2013] united nations assessment, the ice sheets were shrinking at a rate that would have taken more than 100,000 years to go away completely. that\u2019s the equivalent of me going on a diet and losing one third of one potato chip a year. and i could do with losing faster, but if the ice sheets lost faster it would be very bad. so, the question is if we make it really hot, do the ice sheets go on some crash diet, lose weight in a big hurry, and the sea level goes up a lot. and that is really possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
scientists shift from research to action in puerto rico<\/h2>\n in addition to damages from erosion and flooding, the island has experienced unpredictable rainfall, with intense storms and significant droughts that have led to water rationing in parts of the island, he said. to address the rapidly changing environment, d\u00edaz helped create the puerto rico climate change council (prccc), an organization that brings together scientists, engineers, health professionals and policymakers to address the impacts of and adaptive strategies for climate change around the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cpeople here can relate directly to the effects and impacts of climate change. maybe in the past they didn\u2019t associate with it, but we have seen the worsening of coastal erosion and extreme events like droughts and floods, people are understanding that things are changing. the effects and impacts will be magnified if we don\u2019t do something about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
d\u00edaz also directs the island\u2019s coastal zone management program through the national atmospheric and oceanic administration (noaa). his colleague amanda leinberger is developing an online \u201cvulnerability self-assessment toolkit\u201d to help coastal communities \u201cassess their own hazard risk and then, based off that, offer or recommend feasible adaptation strategies,\u201d she said. the goal is to increase communication between the coastal communities on the island so that more people can benefit from effective solutions to sea level rise and erosion.<\/p>\n
coastal erosion is exacerbated by man-made changes to the shoreline, which include building new properties too close to the beach and building sea walls to prevent the ocean from destroying buildings. a coastal construction setback line to prevent new development on the coastline might be the best option for areas that have yet to be developed, because \u201cat the end of the day you cannot fight mother nature,\u201d said mercado.<\/p>\n
but for communities already struggling on the coasts, the solutions are more complicated. concrete sea walls are common in puerto rico, and temporarily can protect houses and buildings. but eventually, the walls themselves can contribute to further erosion of the beach, chaparro said.<\/p>\n
\u201cyou can either decide on having beaches or having walls. once you build the walls, you lose the beach. and if you don\u2019t build the walls, you will lose the building,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
beach renourishment, or adding sand to beaches, can increase the distance between buildings and the coastline, but it is too expensive to be feasible in puerto rico, the scientists said. relocating coastal communities further inland involves many complicated and expensive social issues, chaparro said.<\/p>\n
\u201cwhen you talk about removing people from coastal communities, they are reluctant,\u201d because historically, communities have been relocated to construct large hotels or resorts, he said. \u201cthis is a very delicate problem and programs must be made with a multidisciplinary approach to these decisions and these social concerns must be taken into account.\u201d<\/p>\n
some communities have responded to the changing sea level with their own solutions, like raising their furniture on milk crates or cement blocks, moving to the second floor of their homes, or building homes with expandable stilts.<\/p>\n
\u201cmoving to the second floor is becoming a very common adaptive strategy. a family will often build a second floor over time and start moving pieces of the house up to the second floor,\u201d said katia aviles-vasquez, professor at the university of puerto rico in rio piedras. \u201cin some houses, they\u2019ll have living arrangements on the second floor and they\u2019ll put anything they can lose on the first floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
these adaptations allow communities to temporarily cope with the flooding, but developing a long-term solution is more difficult, she said. aviles-vasquez directs the island\u2019s bosque modelo (model forest) program, an organization which works to promote community-based sustainable development, tourism and conservation.<\/p>\n
coastal conservation efforts have helped some communities avoid significant property damage. the corredor del yaguazo, a community-run conservation and ecotourism site near san juan, has reestablished the area\u2019s natural wetland ecosystem in an area formerly used for housing. the wetland helps shield the community from the sea \u2014 it acts as a holding pond for excess water, and the roots of the coastal trees help prevent the land from eroding.<\/p>\n
in yaguazo, the wetland currently has over 200 mangrove trees, and the group hopes to plant 800 more by march, said the organization\u2019s director, don pedro carrion. mangroves are coastal trees that live right on the beach in tropical regions, tolerate salt water, and prevent sand from eroding from beaches. carrion\u2019s own home, which serves as a research and learning center for the organization, is built with extendable stilts, which he can raise up in case of flooding.<\/p>\n
\u201cpedro designed his house on stilts, which is a very common strategy, but the stilts, the way that he designed them, they could literally raise the house entirely. he\u2019s taught some of his neighbors to do that,\u201d said aviles-vasquez. \u201cthat\u2019s a community-based strategy for adaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
as the pace of sea level rise accelerates around puerto rico, families are raising their furniture on milk crates and building second floors on their homes to adapt to the changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9417,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4905,5196],"tags":[561,144,3652,3653,4625,591],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-12682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adaptation","category-past-storyfest","tag-climate-action","tag-climate-change","tag-islands","tag-puerto-rico","tag-sea-level","tag-storyfest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
puerto rico: a 'canary in the coal mine' for climate change - planet forward<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n