1. Eric M. Gulledge, Luma Akil and H. Anwar Ahmad
The Impact of Climate Change on Sea Level Rise in the US Gulf Coast from 1985–2015
Eric M. Gulledge, Luma Akil and H. Anwar Ahmad
Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS USA
13th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
DISCUSSION
The Gulf coast states are being affected by sea level rise in different ways, such as salt water intrusions, vector-borne diseases, sea-borne diseases, increasing storm severity, and economic vulnerability.
The supervision and management of sea level rise has posed a serious challenge to U.S. federal agencies and most coastal states.
There is an urgent need to analyze sea level variations due to various climatic factors to understand the recent upward trends.
The up and downward trend of the seasonal cycle (Figure 4) has been attributed to the active seasonal variations in the speed of the Gulf Stream. The transfer of the Florida current, characterized by the Loop current in the Gulf of Mexico, to the Gulf Stream contributes to a decline in January and a peak in July.
The western half of the Gulf of Mexico appears to have higher mean sea level rates than Alabama and Florida.
The meteorological and oceanographic data showed a 10% impact of global warming on the overall sea level rates in the Gulf of Mexico.
Data Collection from NOAA Tide Gauges from TX, AL, MS, LA, and FL ( )
Analysis of Variance
Determine significant differences in MSL among states
Linear Regression
Determine the relative mean sea level per year
Regression Analysis
Determine the association between meteorological data and monthly sea levels
T-Test
Comparison of two fifteen year interval MSL data
OBJECTIVE
RESULTS
CONCLUSIONS
Determine the variation of sea level rise in the Gulf of Mexico
Determine the relationship between meteorological and oceanographic factors to increasing sea level rise in the Gulf of Mexico
Determine the variation of sea level rise among bordering states in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf Coast is increasing 4.2 mm per year in relative mean sea level from 1985 to 2015.
The is characterized by an upward trend. The increase in sea level rates, in highly vulnerable areas, such as Louisiana and Texas raises serious concerns.
Louisiana and Texas had significantly higher relative mean sea level rates compared to other tested Gulf States of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
Water and air temperature had a positive correlation with MSL with an R2 value of and , respectively.
STUDY SITES
Figure 2. Linear trend of sea level rate in
the Gulf Coast.
Figure 3. Mean and standard deviation of sea
level rate for NOAA tide.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number G12MD and by the Mississippi INBRE, funded by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Figure 1: Locations of the twenty tide gauges across the Gulf Coast.
Figure 4. Seasonal mean sea level cycle in the
Gulf Coast.
Table 1. Regression table of all parameters to
mean sea level.