JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A newly released study suggests rising sea levels will cause coastal cities to disappear.
Action News Jax took that study to an expert to learn which parts of our area would end up underwater and the steps that need to be taken to keep it from happening.
The study shows several scenarios of what the world will look like if carbon emission continues as is. Several studies all back that this will happen but debate how fast water will rise and by how much.
Dr. Jeremy Stalker teaches marine science at Jacksonville University. He's familiar with this study recently released by proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of many done over the years with the same idea.
"We will start with the premise that (the) sea level is rising; it is," Stalker said.
Scientists said there are several factors. As temperatures increase water expands, and those temperatures also threaten ice glaciers thousands of miles away. It's all based on carbon emissions, what the population is pumping into the air.
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"It just requires a cultural shift, the way we think, the way we produce food, the way we work, the way we interact with our world is going to have to go through some fundamental change," Stalker said.
Stalker said even with carbon reductions, noticeable results can take years. The recent study shows how coastal states and cities will be affected. One of the scenarios names Jacksonville, only 20 years from now.
"The study says by 2035, 25 percent of Jacksonville, the low-lying areas, the intercoastal, the barrier islands and things near the river will start seeing sea level rising initiation, which means they will be inhabitable and underwater," Stalker said.
We used a website called climatecentral.org that shows what areas will be underwater if the same carbon emissions measured from the study continue all the way through the year 2100.
We plugged in the zip code where EverBank field sits, and it showed that the entire stadium and surrounding area would be under water.
Stalker said studies and projections vary; some are more conservative than others.
"Ten years ago, we would have called in a worst-case scenario as we learn more and more we are not looking at it as all that unlikely anymore," Stalker said.
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