A review of sea level rise processes affecting the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America

Abstract

A substantial fraction of human settlements lie in coastal areas. Their proximity to the sea puts them at risk to flooding and other detrimental effects that may arise from a relative sea level rise in these locations. In public discussion, sea level rise is often presented solely through the lens of anthropogenic climate change. In actuality, some processes (such as glacial isostatic adjustment induced subsidence) operate independently of human influence. Herein I present a review of the processes behind sea level rise, with a particular focus on those operating on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America. Additionally, I produce a series of data visualizations exploring the processes and their potential effects. These visualizations investigate novel ways of presenting data to promote accessibility of scientific data.