sciencetech-blog

comments

Climate change is threatening U.S. landmarks from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour to the launchpads at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A new study has revealed the full extent of the crisis facing America's most cherised landmarks - and says almost two dozen are at risk.

They include Boston's historic districts, the Harriet Tubman National Monument in Maryland and an array of Nasa sites including the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The new report says the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour (left) to the launchpads at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center (right) are at risk, also named were The Castillo de San Marcos (top middle), the oldest masonry fort in North America and parts of Boston

Other sites at risk include the first permanent British colony in North America at Jamestown Island in Virginia, and historic Charleston, South Carolina.

Another is Fort Monroe, where the first African slaves arrived in 1619 and where 250 years later they were given refuge as 'contraband' of the American Civil War, a move that paved the way for the abolition of slavery.

Also under threat are the César Chávez National Monument in Keene, California with floods, rising sea levels and fires, scientists said on Tuesday.

National Landmarks at Risk, a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, highlighted more than two dozen sites that potentially face serious natural disasters.

'The imminent risks to these sites and the artifacts they contain threaten to pull apart the quilt that tells the story of the nation's heritage and history,' Adam Markham, director of climate impacts at the union, a non-profit organization for science advocacy in Washington D.C. and the study's co-author, said in a statement.

The report is not slated for publication in a scientific journal, said Brenda Ekwurzel, senior climate scientist who co-authored the report.

It said that reducing carbon emissions could minimize the predicted risks posed by climate change.

'We must prepare our cherished landmarks for these worsening climate impacts and take steps to make climate resilience a national priority,' the scientists wrote.

Where could be affected?

'At the same time, we must work to minimize these risks in the future by reducing the carbon emissions that are causing climate change and its accompanying impacts.'

The report highlights 30 at-risk locations chosen because the science behind the risks they face is robust, and because together they shine a spotlight on the different kinds of climate impacts already affecting the United States' cultural heritage, the team said.

At some sites -  such as Liberty and Ellis Islands and Cape Hatteras - steps have already been taken to prepare for these growing climate risks.

At many other sites, such efforts have not yet begun.

'As these case studies illustrate, climate change is no longer a distant threat for others to worry about,' the team said.

'The consequences are already underway, with serious and growing risks to the places and communities we care about.'

The report concluded that action must be taken now.

'If future generations of Americans are to experience the joy and wonder that these extraordinary places engender, we must act now to protect them from the impacts of climate change today and prepare them for expected additional changes tomorrow.

'We must also take steps to minimize the risks of climate change in the future by taking immediate action to reduce the carbon emissions that are driving up the planet's temperature.

'The historic legacy of the United States is at stake.'

Drastic change: The Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC one day may only be accessible by boat

Jamestown, Virginia - the first permanent English colony - could be completely inundated due to rising sea levels, and the nearby Fort Monroe, 'will become an island unto itself within 70 years,' Markham said.

In the western United States, rising temperatures have led to an increase in wildfires by melting winter snowpacks earlier, leaving forests drier for longer, the report said.

Among California's 20 largest fires since 1932, a dozen have happened since 2002, the report said.

An unrelated report published on Monday showed that the California drought has cost thousands of jobs and $1.7 billion to farmers in the state's Central Valley. Governor Jerry Brown has partly blamed climate change for the drought.

Earlier this months Scientists warned that vast glaciers in West Antarctica are locked in an irreversible thaw linked to global warming – and created incredible images show the effect the melt would have on some of the U.S's classic coastal city areas.

Experts say the melt could add 12 feet (1.2 to 3.7 meters) to current sea levels in a few hundred years and the images illustrate the impact this increase would have on cities including Miami, Boston and San Francisco.

The photographs were developed by Pittsburgh-based digital artist Nickolay Lamm, based on sea level-rise mapping data from Climate Central.

Watery Boston: This image shows what the city's Back Bay would look like if sea levels rose by 12 feet, with roads leading to the bay completely submerged

Soggy playing conditions: AT&T Park in San Francisco would need to become a water polo venue, according to Nickolay Lamm's digital imaging 

Flooded: The San Diego Convention Center would be completely unusable if sea levels rose by 12 feet, with water almost encroaching onto the road next to it

Venice Beach: Los Angeles' famous coastal hot-spot might only be navigable by canoe in the future, with the beach totally submerged by the waters of the Pacific

Road to nowhere: Miami's Ocean Drive is a popular spot for a stroll and a cruise, but in a few hundred years it might be better suited to fishing expeditions

In the shocking pictures the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C is surrounded by water, Ocean Drive in Miami looks like it would only be navigable by boat and Crissy Field in San Francisco is mostly under water.

And you'd need waders to walk around The San Diego Convention Center, according to the predictions.

A Nasa study looking at 40 years of ground, airplane and satellite data shows the melt is happening faster than scientists had predicted, crossing a critical threshold that has begun a domino-like process.

Some scientists believe that a build-up of man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is affecting wind patterns around Antarctica, driving warmer waters towards the continent.

Bob Ward, from the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at London School of Economics and Political Science, said: 'Although such extreme sea level rise is only likely to occur after several centuries of global warming, these startling images should help U.S politicians and the public to understand the scale of the risks created by climate change.'

Alarming: The Boston Harbor Hotel will need more than a few sandbags in the future to keep the water out, if Climate Central is correct

San Francisco's Crissy Field may one day be completely submerged

How San Francisco's Crissy Field might one day look from above

Water sight: Harvard campus would make for a nice boating lake in the future, apparently

Soaked: The lush lawn in front of the Military College of South Carolina may be lost forever

Sea-ing is believing: San Diego's Coronado Island may one day be claimed by the ocean