Rising Sea Levels Push Woods Hole Science Community To Prepare for Change | WCAI

Three world-renowned science institutions in Woods Hole are preparing their ocean-front facilities for the threats of climate change and will soon release an adaptation plan.

Scientists, policymakers, and business leaders discussed the effects sea level rise, storm surge, and erosion could have on the area in the southern tip of Falmouth during a two-part symposium hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).

A soon-to-be-released report by the Woods Hole Group warns that by the end of the century, 50 acres of the Woods Hole community may be lost to wetland migration, and large expanses of existing wetlands north of Eel Pond could return to the sea. In that time frame, the Woods Hole Group found, 66 percent of the institutional assets identified in the study could experience nuisance flooding, which would interfere with normal use of research facilities.

If Woods Hole experiences a four-foot sea level rise by 2100 as projected, the science institutions, along with businesses and homes would be seriously impacted, if not completely lost. Read more of the article here.

Source: Rising Sea Levels Push Woods Hole Science Community To Prepare for Change | WCAI