NASA Scientists forewarn coastal communities that a Moon ‘wobble’ will cause frequent high tide flooding in 2030.
In a decade from now, the combination of rising sea levels and the moons “tide-amplifying cycle” will result in surge flooding, particularly for US coastline communities.
Bill Nelson, an Administrator at NASA, explained that climate change, coupled with the tides from the moon‘s gravitational pull, are the contributing factors behind this, where things “will only get worse” for low-lying areas that are already suffering from flooding.
The moon has an 18.6-year cycle, during half of which amplifies tides, meaning that “high-tides get higher and low tides get lower“.
By the time it is 2030, sea levels will have had 10 years to rise.
The new moon cycle will spend half its time counteracting rising sea levels, while the other half will be increasing this effect.
This cycle, otherwise known as the moon’s “wobble, ” coupled with an amplified tide and climate change, is a recipe for disaster.
The positioning of the Sun, Moon and Earth will also impact the consistency of these floods, where they will likely come in clusters and are expected to last for months.
Specifically, the 2030s will birth more than 2000 destructive floods, if no serious efforts are made to reduce climate change.
Comparatively, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that there were 600 floods in 2019.
The fact that floods are expected to double in 2030 is a frightening prospect and reveals the rapid impact that our actions are having on the planet.
The flooding will significantly impact businesses, undoubtedly putting a lot of people out of work.
“If it floods 10 or 15 times a month, a business can’t keep operating with its parking lot under water. People lose their jobs because they can’t get to work.” Additionally, concerns were raised regarding the consequence this would have on public health.
The below image predicts what coastal communities in America will look like by 2030.
Scientists hope that this recent finding will serve as a wake-up call for countries, where preventative measures will be instilled to ensure that their communities can adapt to survive these changes.
If you are still a little confused by how this all works, the below video provides a great visual explanation of the moon’s cycle and how this influences the tides:
Alternatively, you could just follow in the footsteps of this Twitter user:
this is how I will be processing my knowledge of the Moon Wobble moving forward pic.twitter.com/Rvu2pAd7TU
— Rob (@robrousseau) July 14, 2021
