Rising oceans bad news for California

Sea-level rise associated with global warming will affect California more than Washington or Oregon in the coming decades, according to a report from the National Research Council.

A 12-member committee appointed by the National Academy of Sciences found California’s sea-level rise south of Cape Mendocino could rise between 16 inches and 4 1/2 feet by the end of the century, according to SFGate.com. The forecast sea-level change is greater in California than that of Washington and Oregon because of differences in the Earth’s crust between the two geographic regions. The authors noted the low-lying Bay Area will be particularly at risk of flooding and California’s coastline will suffer from erosion.

The researchers calculated 65 percent of sea-level rise will be from melting ice in the poles, while expansion of the world’s oceans as they warm accounts for the rest.