Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Future increases in sea level will inundate the nesting areas of Snowy Plovers.
(Caitlin Nilsen)
tions in the Pacific might collude with climate change to cause flooding.
Sea level height, for example, fluctuates depending on whether the region
is covered by a high pressure cell (pressing the ocean down) or a low pres-
sure cell (allowing the ocean to rise).
One scenario the CASCaDE team explored is the perfect storm: when
low pressure, high tide, heavy rain, and strong winds coincide to create an
extreme sea level event. “All these
forcings
in the bay ride on top of mean
sea level and climate change, so there's a likelihood of all these effects oc-
curring together,” says Cayan.
Other CASCaDE studies are modeling changes in contaminant trans-
fer through the food web, as well as trends in native and invasive species
populations, for example. According to Cloern, “Climate change is going
to have many different ramifications, not just warming. It's going to affect
all the parts of the system, but some things are going to change more than
others. So we can be on the lookout for the bigger things that will be hap-
pening sooner.”
Just about everything built or growing on fill around the bay could get
flooded by rising sea levels within the next few decades. At first these
airports, highways, hayfields, and South Bay residential areas may only be
