New University of Hawaiʻi Study: Sea-Level Rise Threat to Oʻahu Underestimated, Critical Infrastructure at Risk
A new study released by the Climate Resilience Collaborative at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa finds that traditional sea-level rise models drastically underestimate the threat to coastal infrastructure on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
After factoring in shoreline erosion and high-wave events, the researchers found that current single-hazard projections overlook up to two-thirds of the threatened land area and 85% to 100% of the critical infrastructure likely to be affected, including buildings, roadways and cesspools.
The study projects that, after decades of steadily worsening chronic flooding, Oʻahu will reach a rapid tipping point between 2073 and 2102, depending on the global emissions path. At the tipping point, the number of buildings affected would nearly double, from about 5,900 to 11,100, and the number of residents affected would rise from about 27,800 to more than 58,100.
Urban Honolulu faces the greatest exposure to passive flooding and wave-driven flooding, while Oʻahu's west side is more exposed to intermittent, abrupt impacts from annual high-wave events. The study was published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate.
Source: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图为檀香山威基基与钻石山一带海岸航拍。Photo: Waikiki and Diamond Head, Honolulu (Prayitno / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0)
