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Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise -- On the Northeast Coast
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New England Coast
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New Hampshire – New York
Download B&W Map (269 KB)
Download Color Map (270 KB) |
| (Click on maps to see a larger image.)
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Massachusetts Coast
Download B&W Map (281 KB)
Download Color Map (281 KB) |
Long Island, New York
Download B&W Map (225 KB)
Download Color Map (226 KB) |
| (Click on maps to see a larger image.)
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Note: Elevations are based on computer models, not actual surveys. Coastal protection efforts may prevent some low-lying areas from being flooded as sea level rises. The 1.5-meter contour depicted is currently about 1.3-meters above mean sea level. Therefore, some of the areas depicted in red will be above mean sea level for at least 100 years and probably 200 years. Nevertheless, because mean spring high water (i.e., high tide during new and full moons) is typically 60 cm above sea level, the 1.3-meter contour would be flooded a few times per month by a 70 cm rise in sea level.
Over the next century, sea level is most likely to rise 55-60 cm along most of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The 3.5-meter contour roughly illustrates an area that might be flooded over a period of several centuries.
Please note: The available elevation information for New England is poor (this caveat does not apply to the State of New York). Therefore, the maps illustrating the New England states are less accurate than the other maps.Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise: Modeled Elevations along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts was originally published in Climate Research, 18:205-228 (2001). You can download the underlying geographical information system (GIS) data for an example quadrangle and learn how to obtain the entire dataset underlying this study.
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