Dammit, That's Piling On. Blame the "Wobbling Moon."


Sea level rise is already causing problems such as coastal flooding, salination of freshwater reserves and erosion. It gets worse when storm surge and seasonal high tides are added to the mix. But wait, there's more. It's the "wobbling moon" effect that will make itself felt in the 2030s.

“We’re going to have sort of a double-whammy,” William Sweet, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and author of the study, said Wednesday. “It means that coastal communities — unless they adapt and fortify — are likely to expect even greater flooding than they might otherwise.”

The increase in flooding is caused in part by the moon’s “wobble.” As it orbits Earth, the satellite’s angle relative to the equator changes over time. This phenomenon — spanning an 18.6-year period — influences how tides ebb and flow.

One half of this cycle subdues tides, making the high tides lower and the low tides higher. The second half amplifies them.

This latter part, combined with sea-level rise — a product of climate change — is what will lead to greater flooding in the next two decades, the study concludes.

“The goal needs to be to try to limit global warming and keep the sea-level rise that we see as low-level as possible — for instance, by reducing our emissions — in order to reduce some of these impacts,” [Ben Hamlington of the NASA Sea Level unit] said. “So there are these bigger global discussions that play a very important role here.”

At the risk of being repetitive, don't you think it's time we chose to defend the future instead of worsening it? Instead of lavishing tens of billions of dollars on subsidies, grants, deferrals and benefits such as pipelines on the fossil energy giants might we not find far better uses for that money? 

It was reported this morning that wildfire season as we've known it could soon be replaced by year round wildfires. The effects of that are hard to comprehend. We have already discovered wildfires that don't burn out but smoulder over the winter to burst into flame again come spring.

From heatwaves to drought to wildfires rampaging out of control, we are already in trouble. Our penny wise/pound foolish prime minister frets about the health of Canada's dwindling fossil fuel economy apparently oblivious to how the climate emergency could really whipsaw our overall economy for generations to come.

Our window of opportunity is closing.


Comments

  1. Northern PoVJuly 15, 2021 at 7:14 AM

    "At the risk of being repetitive, don't you think it's time we chose to defend the future instead of worsening it? "

    Yes, bring it on. Being repetitive is a big part of the teaching/learning process:

    "The Ministry for the Future
    by Kim Stanley Robinson
    3.90 · Rating details · 6,006 ratings · 1,194 reviews
    Established in 2025, the purpose of the new organization was simple: To advocate for the world's future generations and to protect all living creatures, present and future. It soon became known as the Ministry for the Future, and this is its story.

    From legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined.

    ReplyDelete

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