Scientists from institutions including Tulane University in Louisiana and the UK’s National Oceanography Center determined that the “mean sea level acceleration” along the southeastern and Gulf coasts is at a rate of more than 10 millimeters, or a centimeter per year since 2010, unprecedented in at least 120 years.

Thomas Wahl, of the University of Central Florida and a co-author of the report published in Nature Communications, noted that rising sea levels lead to erosion of wetlands, which coastal communities depend on for protection.

Now you have a higher base water level, so the impacts of a hurricane now will be different from those that could cause the same phenomenon 150 years ago, the expert told The Washington Post.

So far, the trend in the region has only been detected for about 12 years, but with global sea levels rising steadily there are fears of a pattern that scientists have warned will continue, especially as long as fossil fuel extraction persists. and greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to making storms like Ian (2022) and Michael (2018) more devastating, Wahl told the Post that higher coastal sea levels impact daily life.

“It corrodes the infrastructure. It corrodes the cars that drive through salt water every day. You can’t open your business or go to work,” he said.

According to the Common Dreams site, the research finding confirms the results of a study published last month in the Journal of Climate by Jianjun Yin of the University of Arizona.

According to the expert, Hurricanes Michael and Ian, already two of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States, were made more devastating by high sea levels on the Gulf Coast.

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