In-depth articles

A brief overview of the reasons behind increased flooding and the consequences for municipalities.
The changes in the climate are causing sea level rise, increased storm surges and, as a result, an increase in the number of yearly floods. Let us take a quick dive into this subject and how the impact of these problems can be minimized in the future.

For the last 27 years the sea levels have risen by almost 4 inches (100mm) - with an average of ⅛ inch (3.3mm) per year. It is partly attributed to the increase in ocean temperature, which causes sea water to expand. Another contributing factor is the added water from melting glaciers.

The climate is changing, and coastal communities are acutely aware of the impacts. Sea levels are rising faster than predicted causing king tides to overtop seawalls. Storm intensity is increasing as the oceans warm. Clear sky flooding is occurring in places that never experienced flooding in the past. Coastal communities all over the world are hungry for dynamic, comprehensive solutions to these now common occurrences which threaten property and livelihood.

Global warming is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere.  The atmosphere, that protects our planet and allows life to thrive, naturally contains some greenhouse gases however when these levels get too high the gases in the atmosphere act like a down comforter instead of a sheet.  The solar energy enters the atmosphere and the thermal energy, heat, is trapped under the “comforter”.  This is essentially global warming.