Ocean Circulation Change: Sea level Spiked for Two Years along Northeastern North America

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March 2, 2015

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(Science Daily/University of Arizona) Sea levels from New York to Newfoundland jumped up about four inches in 2009 and 2010 because ocean circulation changed. The unusual spike in sea level caused flooding along the northeast coast of North America and was independent of any hurricanes or winter storms. A new article documents that the extreme increase in sea level rise lasted two years, not just a few months.

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Independent of any hurricanes or winter storms, the event caused flooding along the northeast coast of North America. Some of the sea level rise and the resulting flooding extended as far south as Cape Hatteras.

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The team found that, at the current rate that atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing, such extreme events are likely to occur more frequently, Goddard ( Paul Goddard, a UA doctoral candidate in geosciences) said.

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Yin ( Jianjun Yin, UA assistant professor of geosciences) wondered whether such sea level rise had actually been observed, so he asked Goddard to compile the tide-gauge records for the east coast of North America. The 40 gauges, spanning the coast from Key West, Florida, north to Newfoundland, have been recording sea levels as far back as the 1920s.

Goddard’s work revealed a surprise — that during 2009 and 2010, sea level between New York and Newfoundland rose an average of four inches. Sea level from Cape Hatteras to New York also had a notable spike, though not as dramatic.

“The sea level rise of 2009-10 sticks out like a sore thumb for the Northeast,” Goddard said.

His research also confirmed that, as others have reported, sea level has been gradually rising since the 1920s and that there is some year-to-year variation. READ MORE and MORE / MORE (Mashable) and MORE (BBC) and MORE (The Guardian) Abstract (Nature Communications)

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