The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC for short) was released last week, and confirms climate change related impacts are occurring in the seas at an unprecedented rate with serious implications for Australia. ESCC Hub research informed the findings of the report.
Our coastlines play an important role in how we live, providing recreational outlets, supporting ecosystem biodiversity and containing millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure and assets. Ocean waves, as well as sea levels, are important when considering climate risks to our coastlines. If warming continues in-line with current trends we are likely to experience significant changes in wave conditions with potential implications for coastal infrastructure and ecosystems.
In this webinar, Dr Julian O’Grady provides an overview of the latest science on extreme sea levels, and gives a brief demonstration of the newly released Canute3.0 tool to estimate the frequency of future extreme water levels.
A project to digitise old tide records will enable analysis of how extreme sea levels along Australia’s coastline have changed over time – and you can be involved!
Greenland’s contribution to sea-level rise is increasing due to both increased surface melting and flow of ice into the ocean.
Our research into sea level, storm surges and waves will inform policy, planning and development decisions that will minimise the economic, environmental and human cost of coastal hazards.
We can certainly say that sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, after several millennia of relative stability. The question is how far and how fast they will go, compared with Earth’s previous history of major sea-level changes?