UF researchers figure out rising sea levels

As sea levels rise each year, UF researchers work to uncover why they do so.

UF scientists discovered the cause of the Atlantic coastline’s sea level rise is hot spots, bursts of accelerated sea rise that last three to five years, said Arnoldo Valle-Levinson, the study’s lead author and a UF professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The study came out Aug. 9.

The combined effects of El Nino- Southern oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO), two naturally occurring oceanic weather phenomenons, drove the most recent hot spot, Valle-Levinson said.  

“ENSO determines the timing of sea-level rise hot-spots, and NAO determines whether the hot-spots occur in the northeastern U.S. or in the southeastern U.S.,” Valle-Levinson said.

Valle-Levinson said there’s nothing to be done to stop sea levels from rising, but it can be slowed if greenhouse gas emissions decrease.

Sea levels have been constantly rising, but hot spots make it even more unpredictable, said Andrea Dutton, the co-author of the study.

“Our research may help us to develop such models in the future but as of now we do not have such a predictive tool,” Dutton said.

Kristen Curington, a 20-year-old UF architecture junior, said a rise in sea levels would disturb her daily life. Curington lives a 10-minute-drive away from Cocoa Beach, while many of her friends could walk to the beach in 10 minutes or less.

“Living in Cocoa Beach, a large part of the economy relies on tourism,” said Curington. “If sea levels continue to rise, there’s the risk of damage to tourism-focused businesses along the coast. People may be deterred from visiting.”