A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In California, Florida and the Carolinas recently, water has pushed over seawalls and onto the streets. It's because of a phenomenon called king tides. This year's highest and strongest tides are triggered by the gravitational pull of the moon. So let's look more closely at king tides with Alec Bogdanoff. He's a meteorologist and oceanographer and CEO of Brizaga, which is an engineering consulting firm focused on flood risk management. He's on the line from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Alec, so what makes these king tides so powerful this past week?
ALEC BOGDANOFF: So in Florida we already have a king tide season. In the fall, the water is the warmest, and when you have those full moons and new moons, you get king tides. Add sea-level rise on top of it, and we're starting to see it more frequently. But this week, we saw winds from the east that pushed even more water onto land. Those things together created records.
MARTÍNEZ: Is it unusual for it to be happening on the East and West Coasts right around the same time?
BOGDANOFF: Yeah, that happens to be a coincidence. In California, we're dealing with what's on track to be the strongest El Nino on record, so that allowed winds to shift and water to be pushed towards the east and flow up the California coast. So it's two mechanisms that are really happening at the same time.
MARTÍNEZ: Alec, you grew up in Florida. How is this different from what maybe you've seen in the past?
BOGDANOFF: So we've talked about king tides and sea-level rise here for a long time. Communities have worked together. We're seeing the realities now. These tides are higher than we've ever seen. Roads that have never flooded are now underwater. Roads that flooded a little bit are now impassable. Those things coupled together are really bringing sea-level rise home for people. What I tell folks is this is really a coming attraction of what we're going to see in the future if we don't act.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow, a coming attraction of what we might see in the future. That is a terrifying thought (laughter), Alec. Wondering what role does climate change maybe play here?
BOGDANOFF: So climate change is a force multiplier. So what's happening, at least for sea-level rise, is it's heating our oceans. So you can think of it like an old mercury thermometer. The oceans are expanding as they warm. The big cause of sea-level rise in the future, though, is going to be ice on Greenland and Antarctica melting into our oceans, a little like leaving the faucet on and your bathtub overflowing.
MARTÍNEZ: What can communities do to prepare for this? I mean, if this is indeed something that is going to be in our future.
BOGDANOFF: So step one is to start planning. Communities can do assessments, whether they're stormwater assessments, vulnerability assessments, adaptation plans. Take into account sea-level rise future projections and really figure out what it means locally for your community, then build a path of what to do next. It's a multiprong approach because it's not just private infrastructure. It's also public infrastructure. And so you need to put in policies that help people adapt and then also figure out how to do things like raise roads, build bigger stormwater systems. These things are all going to help because, ultimately, you have to figure out how to get more water out of the way quicker.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And I guess another thing is, as well as, you know - as much as it is to live on the beach - everyone wants to do it - is it worth it at this point? I mean, I guess that's another consideration.
BOGDANOFF: Oh, I always tell folks to pick your poison, right? For us, we're dealing with flooding, but personally, I'll take flooding any day.
MARTÍNEZ: That's meteorologist and oceanographer Alec Bogdanoff. Alec, thank you very much.
BOGDANOFF: Thank you.
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