Sea Level Rise

We use naturally occurring king tides as a way to visualize what sea level rise will look like in our communities. The king tides of today will be our everyday high tides in the near future.

What is sea level rise?

Sea levels are rising due to two major causes: thermal expansion of the ocean (water expands as it warms) and the melting of land-based glaciers and ice sheets. As the atmosphere warms from increased atmospheric heat due to greenhouse gas emissions, the oceans absorb about 90 percent of the associated heat.

What others say on sea level rise (SLR)

• NOAA

• National Geographic 

What NASA says on our warming climate

There are many local factors that determine if a specific location will have more or less sea level rise than the global average. Some local factors that determine community-level sea level rise are:

• Vertical land movement
• Regional ocean currents
• Variations in land height
• Whether the land is still rebounding from the weight of the ice age glaciers

Below are links to localized sea level predictions that take into account all of these local factors.

• Washington State Sea Level Rise Projections 2018 report 
• Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Risk Assessment: Island County, WA
• Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula
• Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States

• For questions about king tides contact: Bridget Trosin, Coastal Policy Specialist at bemmett@uw.edu.