NJSGC-Supported Study on Sea Level Rise Gains Media Attention

This originally appeared in the Spring edition of New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium’s newsletter, Coastodian.

Dr. Robert Kopp’s NJSGC-funded project, Development of Historically-Calibrated Sea Level Rise Projections for Risk Management Along the New Jersey Shore, found that sea level is rising at a faster rate than any time in the last 3,000 years. The findings were published in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Kopp, the lead author, is a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. The study was covered by the The New York Times, Associated Press, NPR, Rutgers Today and many other outlets.

“I was expecting some decent coverage, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to lead the Times, nor was I expecting the second wave of media coverage that followed!” Kopp says.

The attention even turned presidential on social media. President Barack Obama retweeted an article from The New York Times that referenced the study along with the hashtag #ActOnClimate. “It was very cool to see the tweet from the president,” he adds. “I know he cares deeply about fighting climate change and preparing our nation for its consequences, and I’m glad our work was able to contribute to the public discussion.”

Kopp’s interest in sea level rise reaches further than the impact to New Jersey’s coast.

“My interest in sea level rise comes because its a major consequence of climate change, and one that matters deeply to the about 400 million people who live within 6 meters of sea level,” Kopp notes. “It’s also a consequence of climate change for which the geological record brings a great deal of insight.”