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New satellite technology, using LiDAR, is allowing for much more accurate understanding of surface elevation of costal areas.

The older technology was picking up tree tops and building roofs and thus over estimating elevation.

This new, more accurate data, has profound impacts on our understanding of the impacts on sea level rise.

Researchers using this new data have issued this statement:

”Land elevation models applied to date suggest that the increase of land area below sea level will be limited at first but will go faster when SLR continues. When we apply a new and more accurate elevation model we find the opposite pattern, with the fastest increase during the early stages of SLR. In one-third of countries most of this increase will be during the first meter of SLR, and in almost all within the first 2 m. We conclude that in many regions the time available to prepare for increased exposure to flooding may be considerably less than assumed to date, and that better elevation data will support timely preparations.”

It’s coming faster than we originally thought.

Full paper here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022EF002880

#ClimateLiteracy #SeaLevelRise

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Discussion

Peter du Toit 2y ago

For context here is the current projected SLR data from the AR6 Synthesis Report:

“Relative to 1995–2014, the likely global mean sea level rise by 2050 is between 0.15–0.23 m in the very low GHG emissions scenario (SSP1-1.9) and 0.20–0.29 m in the very high GHG emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5); by 2100 between 0.28–0.55 m under SSP1-1.9 and 0.63–1.01 m under SSP5-8.5; and by 2150 between 0.37–0.86 m under SSP1-1.9 and 0.98–1.88 m under SSP5-8.5”