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Global warming has a reverse effect on Alaska's state capital
You're likely used to hearing about the possibility of cities flooding as sea levels rise, a result of climate change. But in Alaska, that quirky, individualistic state, the reverse is happening - at least in one area. In an article today from the New York Times, Cornelia Dean reports that Juneau, the only US capital not accessible by road, is actually gaining land as a result of glacial melt. Though it seems counterintuitive, the logistics work a bit like this: glaciers weigh a lot, and as they recede, their pressure eases. The land sort of bounces back, or rises - faster than the rising seas can keep up with it.
Furthermore, glacier runoff deposits sediments into the water, and the Gastineau Channel in front of downtown Juneau is so silty that at low tide it's more of a mudflat than a channel. Where boats regularly sailed, runners now cross in the annual Mendenhall Mud Run. It's a fun spin on the rising land, no doubt, but it belies the seriousness of the changes.
Read more about Juneau's rising land problems here.
Filed under: North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
george owells May 19th 2009 5:47AM
Keep track of weather and global warming on http://www.trackle.com/catalog/weather
jscho May 19th 2009 3:07PM
I played on the golf course in Gustavus mentioned in the article. The guy's deed from the state says his property goes to the water; as the land rises his property greatly expands. Why not build a golf course?
Apparently it causes some pretty nasty land disputes.
john May 19th 2009 3:07PM
I played on the golf course in Gustavus mentioned in the article. The guy's deed from the state says his property goes to the water; as the land rises his property greatly expands. Why not build a golf course?
Apparently it causes some pretty nasty land disputes.