Sea Level Rise in Georgia

As promised yesterday, today I'm blogging about sea level rise research and modeling being done here at University of Georgia's River Basin Center.  (I've been privileged to work and be housed with the RBC for the past several years, and RBC co-director Laurie Fowler founded the Land Use Clinic).

Dean Hardy of the RBC staff has modeled the effect of one meter of sea rise on the Georgia coast. One meter is a forecast commonly accepted by scientists. A visit to the RBC website gives you a very interesting - or scary, if you're a coastal property owner, government official, or planner - view of the future.  I visit the Georgia coast fairly often - particularly Savannah, Tybee Island, and Jekyll Island.  It's very compelling to see my favorite beaches and neighborhoods inundated by seawater in the aerial flyovers.

Dean and his partners are taking this data to local government officials in Glynn County, Georgia next week.  Those officials apparently hope to use this data in their future planning.  I'm certainly glad I'm not in their shoes - although they might be calling the clinic for help soon, so I should be mentally prepared.

Jamie Baker Roskie