U.S. researchers track Kelvin waves northward... California coastal damage warning in mid-next month

U.S. researchers trace Kelvin waves northward... California coastal damage warning in mid-next month

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Jae-eun = In conjunction with the strong El Niño that has developed in the eastern Pacific, a warning has been issued that the sea level off the coast of California in the western United States could rise as much as 30 cm by mid-October this year.

According to CNN broadcast on the 8th (local time), research team Oceanographer Dylan Amaya of North Carolina State University predicted that coastal Kelvin waves are moving north in the open seas of Mexico and Central America, predicting a rise in water levels compared to the average year.

The Kelvin wave is a key element of El Niño, in which a large, gentle surge of seawater spreads over hundreds to thousands of kilometers and moves from the west to the east of the Pacific Ocean.

These waves, which are invisible to the naked eye but are captured by satellite measuring instruments, change into coastal Kelvin waves when they reach the American continent and move north along the coast.

The researchers diagnosed that the coastal Kelvin wave in the open sea of ​​Mexico's Baja Peninsula is heading towards the United States at about 9.6 kilometers per hour, and that the resulting sea level rise will be the first physical sign of El Niño affecting the American continent this year.

This phenomenon is an environmental change that temporarily raises water levels in addition to the sea level rise due to global warming, raising concerns about flooding damage in coastal areas.

Patrick Bernard, director of the Center for Coastal Climate Adaptation at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said, "Because many communities in the western United States were built just for sea level, the risk of flooding doubles for every 5 to 10 centimeters of sea level rise."

Oceanographers warned that if the water level rise due to the Kelvin wave, sea water expansion due to El Niño, and winter storms combine, the water level on the California coast could rise up to 35 cm above normal.

This year's El Niño is predicted to be the strongest since observations began in 1950, raising concerns about the possibility of causing severe damage to Pacific coastal countries.

El Niño is a phenomenon in which the trade winds weaken and the temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean rises above normal, shaking up the global atmospheric circulation.

While the eastern Pacific coast suffers from storms and rising sea levels due to the influx of warm seawater and the development of rising air currents, the western Pacific coast is exposed to risks such as heat waves, droughts, and forest fires due to the development of downward air currents.