Projected5MeterSeaLevelChangeInAmsterdam

AsealevelriseoffivemeterswouldconsumeAmsterdamandmostoftheNetherlandsforthat
matter.Toprotectitselfagainstflood,Amsterdamhasasophisticatedsystemofdams,dykes
anddunes.Butbecauseofhowitissituated,Netherlandsliterallymeanslowcountries,these
measuresmaynotbeenoughtomakeitahabitableplacetoliveifsealevelrisesfivemeters.
Todrawacomparison,thelowestlyingcityissituatedatsevenmetersbelowsealevel.Thisis
muchlowerthanNewOrleansninthwardwhichwaswipedoutfromtheeffectsofhurricane
Katrina.(McKinney,2007))

Projected5MeterSeaLevelChangeInEurope

Fromthemapwecanseeatrendofsealevelriseconcentratedinthecoastlineofnorthern
EuropeintheareasurroundedbytheBlackSea.Whenobservedviasatellite,wecangather
dataforabsolutetrendsinsealevelrise.Itisestimatedthatsealevelisrisingbyaroundtwo
millimetersperyearinthisarea.Inthesouthernmostsection,itisrisingevenmorerapidly,up
tofivemillimetersperyear.Thesevariationsareduetodifferentphysicalprocessworkingon
distinctlocationscausingdifferentoutcomes,suchaswatersalinity,thermalexpansionand
windvariability.(EEA,2015)

Projected5MeterGlobalSeaLevelChange

Thismapshowsaprojectionofwhatafivemeterriseinsealevelwouldlooklikearoundthe
world.Whatitdoesntaccountforisthepossibilitythatwecouldexperiencerapidiceflowfrom
thebreakingapartoficesheetsinGreenlandandtheAntarctic.Thiscouldpossiblycausearise
ofnearlytenmeterswhichcouldaffectroughlytwentyfivepercentoftheU.S.populationalone.
Somecausesofsealevelrisearethethermalexpansionofwater,meltingmountainglaciers,
icecapsandicefields.ThisisdueinparttoEarthsnaturalcycleoflongtermclimatechange
(Poore,etal.,2013).Otherchangesmayarisefromhumaninterventionandglobalwarming
causedbypollution.

WorksCited

ArcGISExplorer.(2016,July3)Retrievedfrom
http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?layers=ce0c46dbd74e4d008772cc122532d3f
0&useExisting=1

EuropeanEnvironmentAgency(EEA).(2015,October13).GlobalAndEuropeanSealevel
Rise.Retrievedfrom
http://www.eea.europa.eu/dataandmaps/indicators/sealevelrise2/assessment

McKinney,V.(2007,May)SeaLevelRiseAndTheFutureOfTHeNetherlands.Retrievedfrom
http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/dutchsea.htm

Poore,R.,Williams,R.&Tracey,C.(2013,January9).SeaLevelAndClimate.Retrievedfrom
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs200/