A new interactive tool allows its users to visualize the future impact of global warming associated with sea level rise. NASA’s Sea Level Change Team has created an interactive map to visualize the rise in ocean levels, in any geographic location and at any time period in the future.
The tool facilitates access to data collected by years by the Intergovernmental Plan on Climate Change (IPCC). As well as projections consistent with the impacts of global warming around the world. The data is available to the public and to anyone interested in planning for the upcoming changes, NASA reports.
Since the late 1980s, the Intergovernmental Plan on Climate Change has been collecting information on the conditions of the planet. Every five to seven years, it has provided global-scale assessments of the Earth’s climate, focusing on changes in temperature. In addition, it has also taken into account factors of great relevance to climate change such as changes in permafrost. Without leaving out carbon emissions and sea levels.
The IPCC recently presented its sixth report on climate change, where it warns that the maximum temperature levels will arrive earlier than expected. However, and despite the fact that the red flags are on, looking at a lot of data sets in the form of graphs scattered throughout dozens of pages of content, can be counterproductive to understand where we are standing.
First map where you can observe sea levels in the future
For this reason, NASA with the help of satellite images and ground instruments, as well as the analysis of all the information collected and computer simulations, has managed to create an interactive map on the current and future state of the sea level situation. For the first time it is possible to visualize how sea levels will change locally.
Image: NASA
Nadya Vinogradova, NASA manager, explained the importance of having projection tools like this to be prevented. «NASA’s new sea level projection tool will help pave the way for future activities that facilitate knowledge sharing, open science, and easy access to state-of-the-art climate science,» she said in a statement. . “This information is critical to increasing the climate resilience of nations with large coastal populations, infrastructure, and economies that will be affected by sea level rise.”
To use NASA’s interactive map, you must access the official Sea Level Change page and select the year you wish to observe in the projection. The range is from 2020 to 2150. Depending on the choice, the map will show the most critical levels of sea level rise as a consequence of global warming.
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