A new study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that sea levels are rising at an accelerated rate across the continental United States, contradicting a federal report published in July that downplayed the risks associated with climate change.
WHOI research indicates that the average rate of sea level rise along the US coast has doubled over the past 125 years, from less than 2 millimeters per year in 1900 to more than 4 millimeters per year in 2024. According to the study, current rates far exceed the historical average, reports
Christopher Piecuch, a physical oceanographer at WHOI and author of the study, said the US Department of Energy (DOE) report only looked at a few selected tide stations, which does not adequately reflect the situation at the national level. The DOE report concluded that “there is no apparent acceleration of sea level rise.”
Instead, Piecuch’s study included all long-term records available from tide stations in the U.S., a total of 70 locations, according to wbur.
“You can’t just look at a few isolated data sets and expect the results to be representative of the entire country,” Piecuch said. “There is a huge discrepancy between the data presented and the conclusions drawn.”
Federal report not “credible”
Piecuch said he decided to conduct his own review after reading the DOE report and “just didn’t find it credible.”
“Nearly 40 percent of the US population, about 130 million people, live in coastal counties,” he said. “This has a direct impact on how we live and work near the sea.”
Although sea level rise is a global phenomenon, there are significant regional differences, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For example, groundwater extraction can lead to land subsidence, accelerating local sea level rise. In other areas, where the land is still rising from the melting of the glaciers of the last ice age, local sea levels are falling.
In the Boston area, sea levels have risen about 30 centimeters over the past 100 years, according to NOAA, while near Portland, Maine, the rise has been only about 20 centimeters.
The report, harshly criticized by scientists and researchers
Global sea-level rise “is arguably the most important climate impact clearly associated with rising temperatures,” the federal report said. However, the paper questioned estimates of future developments, noting that measurements taken by US tide stations “do not, on the whole, indicate an obvious acceleration from the historical rate”.
The report was roundly criticized by climate scientists and environmental organisations, with more than 85 researchers signing a rebuttal document calling many of the claims “misleading or fundamentally incorrect”.
