Will we lose all our beaches underwater as sea levels rise? Won’t it take years for new beaches to form?
In: Earth Science
Yes and no. Or it’s complicated. It depends on the local geography and what humans do. Some areas will flood. Some areas will form new bays and estuaries. Take a look at how coastlines have changed in geologic time. A lot depends on what we do. We build sea walls and it changes the flow of water and sediments for large areas of coastline. We dredge rivers to make them deeper. Diapers an jetties all change the rate of sedimentation.
Yes, but actually no. The rise will cover some current beaches. But it will take time, and much of the sand will be washed up on the new beach area. Eventually it will be so high that many miles of coastline will be underwater. Imagine the lower half of Florida underwater, so there will be much less actual beach
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