That sinking feeling
How rising sea levels threaten the Everglades
By Sid Perkins
The sea level rise expected in the coming century will swamp the Everglades unless current management is adjusted or climate change is curbed.
Today, the sea level is rising at a rate of about 30 centimeters per century. Although some of that increase results from melting glaciers and ice sheets, most comes from the expansion of seawater as it warms, Harold R. Wanless, a geologist at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., said today during a briefing in Fort Lauderdale during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The rate of increase is accelerating, he noted: The Miami-Dade County Climate Change Task Force is expecting sea level to rise about 45 centimeters by 2050 and between 90 centimeters and 1.5 meters by the end of the century.
Many parts of the Everglades include layers of peat, which is about 1 meter thick in spots. That material acts like a sponge in the rainy season, Wanless said. A continuing threat to the Everglades is the loss of fresh water during seasonal draining for agriculture in many cases. If the peat dries out for an extended period, it could collapse and allow saltwater to flood into the area. Alternatively, he notes, maintaining adequate levels of fresh water in the Everglades would keep ground levels from falling and would stop salt water from intruding.