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5 Sea Grant L. & Pol'y J. 3 (2012-2013)
Sea Level Rise and Flooding Risk in Virginia

handle is hein.journals/sglum5 and id is 217 raw text is: Sea Level Rise and Flooding Risk in Virginia Larry P. Atkinson, Tal Ezer, and Elizabeth Smith' Abstract: Consistent rises in sea level have occurred throughout the world for thousands of years. Flooding, storm surges, and other consequences of the rise in sea level have had widespread effects on coastal communities across the globe. Nowhere is this more apparent than the Norfolk/Virginia Beach region along the U.S. Atlantic coastline, where the sea level is rising more rapidly than the global average. This article discusses the causes of and the differences between the rise in sea levels globally and the rise of the sea level in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The article also emphasizes the problems and consequences this sea level rise is creating for the mid-Atlantic region and outlines how communities along the coast are responding in order to adapt to the ever-changing sea levels. I. Introduction ..............................................................3 A. Changes in Global Sea Level................................................3 B. Local or Relative Sea Level Rise..............................................4 C. Global vs. Local Sea Level..................................................6 II. Sea Level Rise, Storm Surge, and Flooding........................................ Ill. Recent Local Sea Level Rise Acceleration and the Future of Local SLR.................8 IV. Local Effects of SLR........................................................11 V. Communities Adapting......................................................2 VI. Conclusion. ...............................................................4 1. Introduction Communities in the coastal areas from Norfolk to New York City were settled over 400 years ago. Since that time sea level has risen well over one foot and in many locations over two feet.2 Because of the rise in sea level, communities see more frequent flooding from the same type of storms. Some communities now experience minor flooding even during normal high tides. This article reviews the past history of sea level, the changes in sea level locally in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach region, and future predictions of sea level in the region. This article also discusses and shows graphically how minor flooding, sometimes called nuisance flooding, has increased. In addition, this article briefly reports on how communities are planning their adaptation. A. Changes in Global Sea Level Sea level has been rising and falling in a regular pattern for at least 400,000 years. As a glacial cycle starts, ice forms over land and sea level drops as water is transferred from the ocean to land. When a glacial cycle ends, the land ice melts, water returns to the ocean, and sea level rises. This cycle repeats 1 Larry P. Atkinson is Slover Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA (latkinso(odu.edu). Tal Ezer is Professor of Oceanography, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA (tezer odu.edu). Elizabeth Smith is with the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA (exsmith(odu.edu). 2 See U.S. Geological Survey, The Chesapeake Bay: Geologic Product of Rising Sea Level, Fact Sheet 102-98 (Oct. 1998), available at http://pubs.usgs.goV/fs/fslo2-98/?. SEA GRANT LAW AND POLICY JOURNAL. VOL. R. NO. 2 2012

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