Daily News | Climate change is coming for the Jersey Shore, retiring coastal expert warns
On a dock overlooking a coil of Nacote Creek in Atlantic County last week, Stewart Farrell, director of, gave an impromptu master class on barrier islands, ancient geology, crab traps, coastal law, the Delaware Bayshore, and bulkheads.
The first real warnings that the climate was changing more rapidly than normal were sounded in the 1950s, Farrell said. Scientists then cautioned that warming would lead to changes in the atmosphere as well as an expanding ocean. Since 1910, Atlantic City has experienced 1.35 feet of sea level rise. A minimal rise of another 2 feet is projected from now through 2100, though the Federal Emergency Management Agency uses an intermediate rise of 4.65 feet in its flood calculations. The average elevation of Atlantic City varies between 12 feet at the dunes and 3 feet in the back bay. That means much of the city could be underwater regularly in the future during high tides and storm surges.
Most attempts to preserve beaches for any length of time have been futile and will only get costlier, Farrell said. He noted that the federal government, DEP and communities have spent $1.3 billion dollars to pump 140 million cubic yards of sand on beaches between Sea Bright in Monmouth County, and Cape May Point in Cape May County. The bulk of that has occurred since 1989.
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