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STS-95 Florida From Space

Florida is one of the most vulnerable areas of the globe in regards to the threat that sea level rise presents. The Florida peninsula is a porous plateau of karst limestone sitting atop bedrock known as the Florida Platform. The vast majority of development occurs on the state’s coastal regions. Much of Florida has an elevation of less than 3.6576m (12 ft), with its most heavily populated areas along the Southeastern coast being at an elevation below 1.2192m (4 ft).Current projections indicate that by the end of the century the minimum amount of sea level rise will be 1.2192m (4 ft).

Geographic impact

Projections of global mean sea level rise by Parris et al. (2012)

Large areas of Florida sit on porous limestone bedrock, which allows water to move relatively freely beneath dry land and to rise up to the surface. Florida also faces rising sea level along its extensive coastline, water encroaching from both the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast, and up through the Everglades. Florida’s major population centers are at risk with 1926.38km (1,197mi) of coastline vulnerable to sea level rise, storm surge and flooding . In the US, 4.9 million people live below an elevation of 1.2192m (4ft), almost half of these (2.4 million) are living in Florida. Because so much of the shoreline is flat and low-lying, the impacts of even small rises extend far inland. Taking tidal variations into account, a 0.3048m (1ft) rise can move the shoreline inward by more than a thousand feet. Most of the projected inundation will affect undeveloped land, especially in South Florida, overtaking upland plant communities with ocean water. Commercial and recreational fisheries dependent on those coastal ecosystems and estuaries that are used by local species for spawning will be damaged..

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an assessment of sea level rise in 2012 as part of the National Climate Assessment and estimated based on projected minimum and maximum melt scenarios of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The report concluded that there is an anticipated a raise of 1.25m to 2.2m (4.1ft to 6ft) by 2100, reaching 0.6m (2ft) by 2050 and 0.9m (3ft) by 2075.

Economic impact

Florida currently has a population of over 19.5 million people and this is projected to double in the next 50 years. In 2014, Florida took New York's place as the third most populated state in the U.S. A factor that worsens the economic impact that sea level rise will have on the state is the historical trend of people primarily migrating to Florida's coastal regions

For most low-lying coastal communities, their economies depend on the ecological and other services provided by coastal and marine environments for activities such as tourism, fisheries, commerce, ports, recreation, water management, wildlife protection, and[storm buffers. Coastal regions already vulnerable to the effects of tropical storms, storm surge, flooding and hurricanes, will see greater impacts as sea levels rise. Much of Florida has an elevation of less than 3.6576m (12 ft), including many of its heavily populated areas such as Miami and Key West. Miami Beach for example, have an elevation of 1.2192m (4 ft) . Current projections indicate that by the end of the century the minimum amount of sea level rise will be 1.2192m (4 ft). Infrastructure, Miami has the largest amount of exposed assets and the fourth-largest population vulnerable to sea-level rise in the world. Sea-level rise is already causing significant impacts in Miami-Dade County, where prolonged flooding from strong storms has become a frequent enough event that Miami Beach city officials are considering a $206 million renovation of their drainage system.

Florida’s GDP is the fourth largest in the country. In 2010, it became the fourth largest exporter of goods in the US. In 2010–11, the state budget was US$70.5 billion, having reached a high of US$73.8 billion in 2006–07. The Floridian economy is heavily relies on its major urban centers. Major metropolitan areas such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Key West, will likely experience the brunt of the projected increases in storm surges and will lose land to the rising seas due to their vicinity in the lower lying regions of Florida.

In July 2012, US Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Reform Act of the National Flood Insurance Program. This act substantially increased the rates of certain policy holders and limited some of the subsidies that were previously included in the National Flood Insurance Program. The act makes it so that if a policy holder has a second home on the beach under his or her flood insurance program and if it is not the individual’s primary residence, the federal government is no longer required going to subsidize it. If an individual owns repetitive loss property, which is defined as a property that has had at least two claims of over US$5,000 or claims that have surpassed the value of the property, such policies would no longer be subsidized. Due to the potential damages that could be inflicted on coastal Florida properties, they are already inherently more risky due to all of the potential damages that could transpire due to Florida’s low-lying nature and the acceleration of sea level rise these costs will likely increase.

Beach erosion due to sea level rise is another compounding factor. Florida currently spends US$200 million per year in public funds in beach protection and restoration. Beach erosion is projected to endanger US$156 billion in property value that includes 300,000 homes. These figures are augmented to US$580 billion and 1,400,000 homes that reside under 1.8288m (6 ft). Every higher inch of sea level rise within these ranges will be more damaging than the previous inch. Damage from sea level rise and coastal flooding is likely to increase dramatically during the course of this century. Florida has 4,111.87 km (2,555 miles) of road below 0.9144m (3 ft), 35 public schools, one power plant, and 966 EPA-listed sites such as [[hazardous waste dumps and sewage plants that are at risk should inundation become more likely. At 1.8288m (6 ft), the figures grow to more than 25,749.5km (16,000 mi) of road, 298 schools, 13 power plants, and 5,474 EPA-listed sites. There is also the matter of the increased strain on fresh water supply due to the increase in population. Due to the intrusion of salt water, underground aquifers deplete as salt water is allowed to push in through the porous limestone rock that lies underneath South Florida. As the sea level rise, this intrusion will happen much faster, pushing salt water into the fresh water aquifers and canals, accelerating the inundation of Southeastern Florida and endangering the region's supply of fresh water.

Adaptation Strategies

The Southeast Florida Region's low land elevations and location along the Atlantic Ocean make it particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, flooding, and tropical storms. In 2009, four Southeast Florida counties (Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe) had created the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact in order to coordinate as a collective adaptation strategies in response to the potential threats that sea level rise presents to the region.

Sociopolitcal impact

On October 3, 2014 the city commission of South Miami passed Resolution No. 203-14-14297,which called for Florida to be split into a North Florida and a South Florida, a creation of an additional state that would allow South Florida to take climate change preparation and adaptation into its own hands without needing to go through the state government in Tallahassee. According to the resolution, South Florida would be comprised of 39% of the area of the current state of Florida and would have a population of approximately 13,375,000 people which is 67% of the total population of the Florida. In order for secession to be enacted, however, the measure would require electorate approval from the entire state and Congressional approval.

See also

• Adaptation to global warming
• Climate Vulnerability Monitor
• Coastal sediment supply
• Current sea level rise
• Effects of climate change on humans
• Effects of global warming on oceans
• Geography of Florida
• Hydrosphere
• Lists of environmental topics
• Standard sea level
• Water cycle