“One of the most famous atmospheric scientists, James Hansen, is arguing we could be facing five-metre higher sea levels by the end of the century, and he’s not a flake, he’s a very renowned scientist,” said Clague.
Obviously our impression of Jimmy-the-flake Hansen differs. Sea level rise is fairly constant at 4-8 inches per century but the advocacy-obsessed AAAS isn’t settling for anything so ordinary:
Sea level rise underestimated, say B.C. scientists
Some scientists at an international symposium in Vancouver warn most estimates for a rise in the sea level are too conservative and several B.C. communities will be vulnerable to flooding unless drastic action is taken.
The gathering of the American Association for the Advancement of Science heard Sunday the sea level could rise by as little as 30 centimetres or as much as one metre in the next century.
But SFU geology professor John Clague, who studies the effect of the rising sea on the B.C. coast, says a rise of about one metre is more likely.
He said that’s serious enough to threaten the communities of Richmond and Delta, including homes, Vancouver’s international airport, Deltaport and theTsawwassen ferry terminal.
“We’re going to see people either defending property, spending tremendous amounts of money trying to defend coastal properties, or we need to relocate the peripheries of our cities to higher elevations,” said Clague.
While the sea level has remained relatively constant during the past 5,000 years, it has been rising over the past 100 to 200 years, and Clague says melting glaciers and a warmer ocean that occupies more space are to blame.
