Dramatic Impact Of Sea-Level Rise On Chesapeake Bay's Coastal Habitats

Dramatic Impact Of Sea-Level Rise On Chesapeake Bay's Coastal Habitats

www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2008) — A new report, Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Habitats of the Chesapeake Bay, shows in vivid detail the dramatic effects of sea-level rise on the largest estuary in the US, which sustains more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals including great blue herons and sea turtles.

If global warming continues unabated, projected rising sea levels will significantly reshape the region's coastal landscape, threatening waterfowl hunting and recreational saltwater fishing in Virginia and Maryland, according to the report by the National Wildlife Federation.

Habitats at Risk

Coastal habitats in the Chesapeake Bay region, near Washington D.C., will be dramatically altered if sea levels rise globally about two feet by the end of the century, which is at the low end of what is predicted if global warming pollution remains unaddressed.

Under this scenario, the region would lose:

More than 167,000 acres of undeveloped dry land
58% of beaches along ocean coasts
69% of estuarine beaches along the bay
161,000 acres of brackish marsh
More than half of the region’s important tidal swamp
These important wetland habitats would be replaced in part by over 266,000 acres (415.6 square miles) of newly open water and 50,000 acres of saltmarsh.

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[edit on 24-5-2008 by grover]

The Chesapeake is one of the most beautiful and enviornmentally sensitive areas in this country and any changes there echo. Just Imagine what would happen with just a 3 foot rise in water level there would mean... Richmond would for example would then be below the fall line, not at or above... rivers deep inland would become brackish and Washington DC would finally return to swampland... as if it ever stopped being one.

www.sciencedaily.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by grover


Stop teasing me, grover. But, instead of DC just being returned back to swampland, can we get a massive flood, while they are all there in session? Please?

reply to post by RabbitChaser


It would cause too much pollution and the bay is polluted enough as it is.... can you imagine what all that rancid fat and grease would smell like?