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Fred BaechlerChief Hydrogeologist, Senior Hydrologist
ADI Ltd
MONITORING SEA LEVEL RISE – BRAS D’OR LAKES:NEED FOR WESTERN SCIENCE AND TEK
PRESENT DAY
FUTURE ?
WHAT IS THE SEA LEVEL RISE ISSUE?
9,000 YEARS AGO
6,000 YEARS AGO
Paleogeography of Atlantic Canada 13-0 kyr
After J. Shaw, et al , 2006 GSC open file report
IS THIS A TOTALLY NEW ISSUE – OR HAVE THE LAKES ENCOUNTERED THIS BEFORE?
INFERRED POSITION OF COASTLINE DURING HIGHEST SEA
LEVEL OF LAST INTERGLACIAL
(after Grant, 1994)
INCONVENIENT TRUTH ( melting of Larson ice shelf or melting of Greenland ice cap – rise in sea level of approximately 7 m)
FUTURE?
IF THE LAKES HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE – WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO US NOW?
MAIN PRESSURE – EVERYONE WANTS WATERFRONT PROPERTYAND TO BUILD ALONG THE SHORELINE
BARACHOIS PONDS – BRAS D’OR ESTUARYData courtesy of the Bras d’Or Stewardship Society
Over 400 barachois ponds alongThe shores of the estuary
BUT THE IPCC IS ONLY PREDICITING AN APPROXIMATELY 0.2 TO 0.5 M RISE BY 2100 -
SO IS SEA LEVEL RISE REALLY A BIG PROBLEM NOW?
IN CAPE BRETON NATURAL RISE IN SEA LEVEL IS ~ 0.3m/100 yr
PROBLEM – ALREADY STARTING TO NOTICE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED CHANGES IN SEA LEVEL – ARE THEY A RESULT
OF CLIMATE CHANGE – OR NATURAL VARIATIONS?
North SydneyTidal Station
Rise of ~ 0.01 m /yr;(by 2100 would be ~ 1m)
RISING GROUNDWATER LEVELS
Digital Terrain Image Courtesy of NS Dept Natural Resources
Rise of ~0.06 m/yr;(By 2100 would be 5.7 m)
FLOODING BARACHOIS’
2008
MID 1930’S
ACTION ITEM: REQUEST ELDERS AND OTHERS LIVING AROUND THE LAKESTO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SHORELINES EXHIBITING FLOODING and/or EROSION
THEY HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE
FIRST INDICATION OF CHANGE – AID IN SUPPORTING SHORELINE PLANNING
INTERACTION BETWEEN WS AND TEK
INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS