Report: Global Warming May Harm N.J. Coast

PRINCETON, N.J. – Rising seas caused by global warming and other factors will have dire consequences for New Jersey, submerging sections of the state’s highly developed coastline by the end of the century, according to a report released Wednesday by Princeton University.

The Atlantic Ocean, swollen by melting ice caps, could rise by up to 4 feet by the year 2100, moving the coastline 480 feet inland in a worst-case scenario, according to the study co-authored by Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at the university’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
That, in turn, would open the door for so-called 100-year floods occurring every five years, according to “Future Sea Level Rise and the New Jersey Coast,” an 81-page report that forecasts an ominous future for the shore.

AP