Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: Projecting, Reducing and Managing the Risk
Presidential Lectures are free public colloquia centered on four main themes: Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Autism Science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are intended to foster discourse and drive discovery among the broader NYC-area research community. We invite those interested in the topic to join us for this weekly lecture series.
As the world warms over this century, the level of the oceans will rise almost everywhere in a non-uniform pattern. The increasing risk of flooding from higher sea levels, combined with potentially stronger coastal storms, poses a risk to urban areas along all coasts, particularly the U.S. Northeast coast.
In this lecture, Michael Oppenheimer will describe the physical mechanisms causing observed increases in sea level. He will describe sea level rise projections and their relation to increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases. The credibility of projections is limited by our modest comprehension of the dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. This lecture presents an emerging approach to projecting sea level rise in the absence of fully credible models, along with resulting projections of regional sea level and flood risk increases worldwide. The talk will conclude with a discussion of lessons learned about managing and reducing coastal flood risk from recent episodes of extreme flooding, including a look at New York City’s response following Hurricane Sandy.