by Rickayla Myles
On February 15, 2022, researchers discovered that by the year 2050 the sea levels in the Outer Banks will be risen to at least a foot. The reason the sea levels are going up is because of how many storms have hit the Outer Banks. The thing is that if more and more storms keep hitting the Outer Banks the sea level will eventually get higher and climate change will get worse. A quote that was found in the article of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “This is a global wake-up call and gives Americans the information needed to act now to best position ourselves for the future,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator.
At the Outer Banks there are excessively big industries that could be damaged, and they could lose a lot of money due to a rise in sea levels. For example, there is real estate, fishing, agriculture, health care, sales, services, and rentals. People who own beach houses, especially near the beach, will be one of the most vulnerable because of how the water is nearby to possibly damage their home.
In the Outer Banks the OBTF was set up; it stands for Outer Banks Task Force. It was made to preserve the natural barrier island system, develop a formal process for the partners to work together, minimizes the impacts to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, and it also supports access to and on the islands so that the transportation system in safe, efficient, and causes minimal impact to the environment.
Sea level generally rises because of melting ice and thermal expansion. Melting ice is when glaciers and ice sheets start to melt the melted ice goes into the ocean making the ocean’s volume increase. There are many ways for ice to melt; for example, from the warm air. Secondly, it can just from the ice breaking off, and thirdly the ocean being extremely warm. Thermal expansion is when it affects the space between such substance's particle, which alters the ability while it only slightly affects its mass, leading to changes in density, which changes any rising forces that act on it.
How will the rising sea level affect us as a community? The sea levels will affect us by crops dying and animals will die also lead to a food shortage. The soil in which farming is happening will change to soil erosion. The people that are living in the cities on the coast would be in the most danger because their houses and belongings would be destroyed. Then people would have to move to a different location and start their whole lives over hoping to financially recover. This could also change vacation plans for multiple people and tourism rates will start to go down.
Taking everything into account, we should be aware sea level is a dangerous thing and that we should be serious about it. We should also start to prepare for this even though it is far away, but the sea level is still rising a lot every single day.
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