El Niño Threatens Record California Sea Levels, Raising 98-Foot Beach Retreat and Winter Flood Risk
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 10
El Niño Threatens Record California Sea Levels, Raising 98-Foot Beach Retreat and Winter Flood Risk
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 10
Summary
Sea levels along California could reach record highs this fall and winter, with forecasters warning Southern California faces widespread coastal flooding during the peak storm season.
More than half a foot of sea-level rise is already showing in the eastern Pacific, where El Niño-warmed water expands and lifts the ocean surface above normal seasonal levels.
About 30 meters, or 98 feet, of beach retreat during El Niño can strip away coastal buffers, letting stronger waves, high tides and heavy rain erode shorelines, undercut cliffs and push salt water inland.
Scientists say this event could rank among the strongest on record, with eastern tropical Pacific temperatures already exceeding 1982-83 and 1997-98 levels for this point in the year.
The risks extend beyond flooding: warmer coastal waters may prolong marine heat waves, worsen domoic acid blooms ahead of crab season and add stress to kelp and other marine ecosystems.