Rising sea levels have the potential to increase the salinity of groundwater (8). This salt would make our groundwater too salty to drink and would also harm aquatic life. For example, estuaries are in the Mid-Atlantic region are getting high amounts of salt, which is hurting the aquatic plants and animals (8). By having salty water, humans would have a decreased source of fresh, drinking water, which could be life-threatening to the human population.
5. Infographic: Sea Level Rise and Global Warming | UCSUSA." Union of Concerned Scientists. 30 April 2014. Web. 30 May 2014.
7. "Coastal Areas." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 06 June 2014.
8. "Future Climate Change." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 06 June 2014.
9. "The Maldives and Rising Sea Levels." The Maldives and Rising Sea Levels. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2014.
10. "Facts About Sea Turtles." Facts About Sea Turtles. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2014.
11. "Coral Reefs & Sea Level Rise." Coral Reefs & Sea Level Rise. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 June 2014.
12. "Benefits of Coral Reefs." International Coral Reef Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2014.
storm surges not only hurt human infrastructure, but they destroy habitats for wildlife and threaten safety and health (8). Storms are a scary subject because they have affected so many people before, such as Hurricane Katrina, and by having more frequent and dangerous ones is terrible thing to face. These storms also contribute to coastal flooding and affect everything that topic affects.
Coral reefs are home to many different kinds of fish and aquatic species. This habitat requires light and as sea levels are rising, the coral and other plants won’t be able to get necessary light and will eventually go extinct (11). Coral reefs provide many benefits: habitat to over 1 million species, bring in money from tourism, provide food, act as a barrier to coasts, and could provide potential treatments to diseases (12). Without coral reefs, many advantageous components would be gone forever. There are many factors that destroy these reefs, but global warming and sea level rising is a major one (11).
(USGS)
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