Can Physics Save Miami (and Shanghai and Venice, by Lowering the Sea)?

Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64327-429-4
Verlag: IOP Concise Physics

Buch, Englisch, 131 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 183 mm x 260 mm, Gewicht: 458 g

The sea is steadily rising, presently at ~3.4 mm/y, already costing Billions in Venice, on the Thames River and in New York City, to counter sea-level-related surges. Experts anticipate an accelerated rise, and credible predictions for sea level rise by the year 2100 range from 12 inches to above 6 feet. Study of the Earth's geologic history, through ice-core samples, links sea level rise to temperature rise. Since the lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is measured in centuries, and it has upset the balance of incoming and outgoing energy, the Earth's temperature will continue to rise, even if carbon burning ceases. Engineering the Earth's solar input appears increasingly attractive and practical as a means to lower Earth's temperature, and thus, to lower sea level. The cost of engineering the climate appears small, comparable, even, to the already-incurred costs of sea level rise represented by civil engineering projects in London, Venice and New York City. Feasible deployment of geoengineering, accompanied by some reduction in carbon burning, is predicted to lower the sea level by the order of one foot by 2100 AD, negating the expected rise, to provide an immense economic benefit. The accompanying lower global temperature would reduce the severity of extreme weather, and restore habitability to lethally hot parts of the world. This book is primarily conceived to aid and inform the educated citizen: aspects may also interest climate workers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wolf, Edward

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umwelttechnik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Thermodynamik Festkörperphysik, Kondensierte Materie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Technische Wissenschaften Umwelttechnik | Umwelttechnologie Umwelttechnik
• Technische Wissenschaften Maschinenbau | Werkstoffkunde Technische Mechanik | Werkstoffkunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface
- Author biography
- 1. The sea-level threat exemplified by Miami and Venice
- 2. Carbon burning has 'engineered' a new era of high temperature and high sea level
- 3. Instability of Earth climate and sea level
- 4. What was learned from Mt Pinatubo eruption in 1991
- 5. Solar engineering to cool the Earth
- 6. Can sea level be lowered by cooling to save Miami?
- Some useful constants
- Glossary

Über Autor(innen)

Edward Wolf is a Professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. He earned his bachelor's degree at Swarthmore College, and a PhD from Cornell University. His research interests include nanotechnology, solid state physics, electron tunnelling phenomena, graphene superconductivity, electron tunnelling spectroscopy, solar cells, and alternative energy.