These are untested, obviously, but well within our technological capabilities. But there are other methods within our power to slow the big glaciers down. Of course, rapid decarbonization is the main thing. This doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do. The loss of Thwaites alone would raise sea level by 2 feet. Whenever it happens, the giant glacier’s ice will slide into the sea unimpeded, at a much faster speed than before. The ice shelf floating off the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica , for instance, looks like it might break up in the next five years. Now the latest findings show things are speeding up more than seemed possible. I’ve also depicted restorations in the aftermath of lost glaciers, such as sucking sand out of the shallows to rebuild the beaches on higher ground, or figuring out how to coexist with ocean water sloshing over most of Lower Manhattan. In 2312, published in 2012, planners of the future are building dams to save glaciers in Greenland. Fictional engineers in another book, as a stopgap measure, try to pump water back up onto Antarctica so it will refreeze there. A billionaire near the end of Green Mars looks down from a space plane on the disintegration: “That’s it for every beach in the world,” he says. I first had a volcano erupt under the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet, causing it to break up and float away. Maybe it’s because we think there’s nothing to be done about it.įor me it’s been like a recurring nightmare, portrayed again and again in my science fiction over almost three decades. Possibly it’s because people feel it’s too far in the future to worry about or too sad to contemplate. Why this oncoming disaster isn’t discussed more is a mystery to me. So the coming rise, even in its earliest phases, will devastate a major part of human civilization. The coastal life is an ancient one, which still feeds and supports millions.Īnd, of course, every coastal city is built right to sea level. They contribute to a big part of the world’s tourist economy, and they mean even more to the people who depend on them for their livelihood. Many people love them, as I do, for their ease and beauty. This sad prospect has haunted me for a long time. Even the low-end estimates, almost sure to be reached because of the anthropocentric warming that’s already occurred, would be enough to submerge almost every beach in the world. That number doubles, at least, by the end of this century - and possibly rises to as high as 8 feet. put minimum sea-level rise at 12 inches within the next 28 years. New projections released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. But most form a coastal verge not much higher than the current highest tides. There are a few beaches around the world where sand is so copious that giant dunes have formed, as in Namibia or the California coast north of Santa Barbara. Waves break on them to make their sand tides move that sand around. I say this because beaches are by their nature located right at sea level. By Kim Stanley Robinson(Bloomberg) –Do you like going to the beach? Too bad.
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