Ecology and Energy Production

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Mayor de Blasio’s $10 BILLION plan to save Manhattan from rising sea levels: NYC proposes extending the city's shoreline into the East River by TWO BLOCKS to create higher ground

Study launched by city estimates 37% of Lower Manhattan risks flood by 2050
With estimated 6-foot sea level rise, expects risk area to raise to 50% by 2100
Plan proposes extending the shoreline up to 500 feet – or two full city blocks
City is also hoping to fortify Lower Manhattan with grassy berms and barriers

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has revealed a plan to protect Lower Manhattan from rising sea levels by surrounding it with earthen berms and extending its shoreline by as much as 500 feet (152 meters).

The plan piggybacks on a climate resilience study released by the city today, which found that roughly 37 percent of Lower Manhattan properties will be at risk from storm surges in the next 30 years.

And by 2100, it says this will rise to almost 50 percent.

De Blasio’s new plan aims to combat an estimated six feet of sea level rise that's expected to encroach upon the city by the end of the century.

In addition to fortifying most of Lower Manhattan with grassy berms and removable barriers, which would cost roughly $500 million, the city has proposed adding more land to the lowest-lying areas, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Battery.

Doing this would take several years, and could cost as much as $10 billion.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has revealed a plan to protect lower Manhattan from rising sea levels by surrounding it with earthen berms and extending its shoreline by as much as 500 feet (152 meters). The plan is mapped out, along with the flood risk, above

The Democratic mayor announced the plan Thursday after previewing it in New York Magazine.

Officials have been developing schemes to fortify New York City's waterfront ever since Superstorm Sandy destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in 2012.

In addition to storm surges, groundwater table rise is also projected to put 7 percent of buildings at risk of destabilization, and put streets and underground utilities at risk of corrosion and water infiltration.

‘Hurricane Sandy showed us how vulnerable areas like Lower Manhattan are to climate change,’ said Mayor de Blasio.

‘That’s why we not only have to reduce emissions to prevent the most cataclysmic potential effects of global warming, we have to prepare for the ones that are already inevitable.

‘Our actions will protect Lower Manhattan into the next century. We need the federal government to stand behind cities like New York to meet this crisis head on.’

Officials have been developing schemes to fortify New York City's waterfront ever since Superstorm Sandy destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in 2012. Parts of the city, including Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (left) and Port Authority (right) were hit by extreme flooding

The plan piggybacks on a climate resilience study released by the city this today, which found that roughly 37 percent of Lower Manhattan properties will be at risk from storm surges in the next 30 years. And by 2100, it says this will rise to almost 50 percent. This is mapped above

The city proposes to launch a series of projects to protect all of Lower Manhattan, including the Seaport and Financial District, by extending the shoreline up to 500 feet – or two full city blocks.

Doing this would add new land to the low-lying region to create high points that sit at least 20 feet above current sea-level, thus serving as a flood barrier.

‘The exact extent of the new shoreline, along with the design and construction of this innovative flood protection system, will be determined through an extensive public engagement process,’ the Mayor’s Office noted in its announcement on Thursday.

The Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency (ORR) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) will spend the next two years completing the plan and the design for the shoreline extension.

WHAT WOULD SEA LEVEL RISES MEAN FOR COASTAL CITIES?

Global sea levels could rise as much as 10ft (3 metres) if the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica collapses.

Sea level rises threaten cities from Shanghai to London, to low-lying swathes of Florida or Bangladesh, and to entire nations such as the Maldives.

In the UK, for instance, a rise of 6.7ft (2 metres) or more may cause areas such as Hull, Peterborough, Portsmouth and parts of east London and the Thames Estuary at risk of becoming submerged.

The collapse of the glacier, which could begin with decades, could also submerge major cities such as New York and Sydney.

Parts of New Orleans, Houston and Miami in the south on the US would also be particularly hard hit.

A 2014 study looked by the union of concerned scientists looked at 52 sea level indicators in communities across the US.

It found tidal flooding will dramatically increase in many East and Gulf Coast locations, based on a conservative estimate of predicted sea level increases based on current data.

The results showed that most of these communities will experience a steep increase in the number and severity of tidal flooding events over the coming decades.

By 2030, more than half of the 52 communities studied are projected to experience, on average, at least 24 tidal floods per year in exposed areas, assuming moderate sea level rise projections. Twenty of these communities could see a tripling or more in tidal flooding events.

The mid-Atlantic coast is expected to see some of the greatest increases in flood frequency. Places such as Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, DC can expect more than 150 tidal floods a year, and several locations in New Jersey could see 80 tidal floods or more.

In the UK, a two metre (6.5 ft) rise by 2040 would see large parts of Kent almost completely submerged, according to the results of a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in November 2016.

Areas on the south coast like Portsmouth, as well as Cambridge and Peterborough would also be heavily affected.

Cities and towns around the Humber estuary, such as Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby would also experience intense flooding.

Mystery glowing ball streaks through skies above Russia: Footage of unidentified object was captured close to site of the most powerful meteor explosion in recent history that landed with the force of 185 Hiroshima bombs

A mysterious 'UFO' was observed firing across the sky in remote central Russia
The bright light looked like it was headed for a collision with the Earth's surface
It was observed a few hundred miles from a famous explosion site 111 years ago
No crash has been reported and no debris has been retrieved from any landing

A mystery glowing ball was spotted streaking across the Russian night sky close to the site of the largest meteor explosion in modern history.

A dashcam captured a dazzling flash changing colour from green to yellow to orange in a remote area of Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia.

It was spotted near the impact site of the Tunguska meteor that struck the region with the force of 185 Hiroshima bombs in 1908.

See

Did UFO 'hit' Russian meteorite blasting it to smi...

A dashcam captured a dazzling flash changing colour from green to yellow to orange in a remote area of Krasnoyarsk region in Russia. One theory is that the spectacular luminous UFO streaking over the Siberian hills was caused by a meteor yet so far there is no evidence for it

Pyotr Bondarev, from Tura village where the flash was seen, said: 'The night got bright and warm, as if a giant light bulb was switched on in the sky'.

Experts believe the object seen streaking over the Siberian hills was also a meteor but no conclusive evidence has been found so far.

The shining body was also seen as far as 250miles (402km) away, but appeared less, bright.

Witnesses say it appeared to be heading for a crash landing.

No debris from a meteorite has been found so far and experts are keeping an open mind as to what caused the stunning spectacle.

The latest sighting lies several hundred miles from the site of the monumental Tunguska Event 111 years ago which caused devastation in the region

Mr Bondarev added: 'It was about 7.30pm, it was dark. I was outside having a walk with my wife and children, when the sky flashed green and yellow.

'Many people saw it and got very excited.'

Another local source said: 'It's impossible to tell what the shining object was. It might have been a meteor or something else.'

Krasnoyarsk Kirensky Physics University researcher Sergey Karpov said it was likely a small meteorite.

'Most likely it was something up to 10 centimetres [4inches] in diameter',' he said.

But this has not been confirmed by the Russian emergencies ministry.

There has been no suggestion that a stray missile or debris from a space launch was behind the 'UFO' sighting.

One theory is that the spectacular luminous UFO streaking over the Siberian hills was caused by a meteor yet so far there is no conclusive evidence that anything has landed nearby

The Tunguska explosion is thought to have been produced by a comet or asteroid hurtling through Earth's atmosphere at over 33,500 miles per hour (50, 000km/h), resulting in an explosion equal to 185 Hiroshima bombs as pressure and heat rapidly increased

Some have claimed it was a 'second Tunguska', as the site of the explosion 111 years ago which caused devastation across the region is within a few hundred miles.

More than 770 square miles (2,000 sq km) of forest was wiped out after a fireball - believed to be some 330ft (100m) wide - tore through the atmosphere and exploded in 1908, according to scientists.

An estimated 80million trees were destroyed and thousands of charred reindeer carcasses were left behind.

It is believed to have exploded three to seven miles (5 to 12km) above the earth's surface yet despite the carnage there was no impact crater.

There were no reports of casualties in the sparsely populated area, despite the power of the impact.

However, some experts have disputed the cause of 1908 Tunguska explosion.

The remote Tura village where the bright light was observed streaking over the Siberian hills in Russia. Tura is a mere few hundred miles from an infamous explosion caused by a meteorite landing over a century ago in the remote forests of Russia that caused devastation

No debris from a meteorite - a meteor that strikes the ground - has been found so far and experts are keeping an open mind as to what caused the stunning spectacle

WHAT WAS THE CHELYABINSK METEOR STRIKE?

A meteor that blazed across southern Ural Mountain range in February 2013 was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century, after the Tunguska event of 1908.

More than 1,600 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs, as it landed near the city of Chelyabinsk.

The fireball measuring 18 meters across, screamed into Earth's atmosphere at 41,600 mph.

Much of the meteor landed in a local lake called Chebarkul.

Other than the latest find, scientists have already uncovered more than 12 pieces from Lake Chebarkul since the February 15 incident. However, only five of them turned out being real.

What did they find in the meteorites?

Analysis of recovered Chelyabinsk meteorites revealed an unusual form of jadeite entombed inside glassy materials known as shock veins, which form after rock crashes, melts and re-solidifies.

By calculating the rate at which the jadeite must have solidified, the team were able to determine that the asteroid formed after a collision.

Jadeite, which is one of the minerals in the gemstone jade, forms only under extreme pressure and high temperature.

The form of jadeite found in the Chelyabinsk meteorites indicates that the asteroid's parent body hit another asteroid that was at least 150 metres (490ft) in diameter.

Ecology and Energy Production