As the climate warms, the world's glaciers and ice sheets are melting, but sea level increase will be greater in some places due to the earth's rotation and gravity, according to a newly released study by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

How much can you expect rising sea levels to threaten your coastal city? The answer lies in part in knowing which glacial ice melts affect it, so planners can determine how much of an increase to prepare for.
"NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has mapped how changes in these giant ice fields influence sea levels both nearby and thousands of miles away," reports Christopher Joyce, science correspondent for NPR (audio available). "They published their results in the journal Science Advances."
It turns out that in New York City, the sea level would be affected more by melting ice on the northern end of Greenland than much closer ice in southern Greenland, or even ice in Canada.
Scientists are now using this information to predict the future for American cities, but they're also building in a lot of local geographical information.
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is putting together a sea level rise grid for the country, one that will factor in local conditions as well as the effects of faraway melting ice," adds Joyce.
Sea level decrease?
Yes, melts in the eastern Greenland ice sheet could cause a minor drop in sea level in Norway while raising sea levels off Tokyo by several inches, writes Joyce.
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Jeff Goodell’s new book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World was reviewed by Jennifer Senior for The New York Times on Nov. 22. While Joyce of NPR indicates that sea level has risen an average of eight inches over the last century, Senior writes that the authors of climate reports for the 2015 Paris agreement estimate sea level rise at over three feet by 2100.
Now many scientists believe that estimate is too low. Some say the sea could rise as much as six feet; others say even more than that.
“For anyone living in Miami Beach or South Brooklyn or Boston’s Back Bay or any other low-lying coastal neighborhood,” Goodell writes, “the difference between three feet of sea level rise by 2100 and six feet is the difference between a wet but livable city and a submerged city.”
"Of all the American cities in this book, Miami seems least equipped to handle a rise in sea level, founded as it is on pleasure, real estate and the inalienable right to not pay state income taxes," adds Senior.
FULL STORY: The Sea Level Threat To Cities Depends On Where The Ice Melts — Not Just How Fast

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Santa Barbara Could Build Housing on County Land
County supervisors moved forward a proposal to build workforce housing on two county-owned parcels.

San Mateo Formally Opposes Freeway Project
The city council will send a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to reconsider a plan to expand the 101 through the city of San Mateo.

A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.
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