A new study by NASA and University of Hawaii has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change. It warns that future changes to the orbit of the moon could cause record-breaking flooding on Earth within the next decade.
Researchers discovered that flooding could become worse in American coastal cities by mapping the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sea-level rise scenarios, flooding thresholds and the astronomical cycles. This is because the next moon "wobbles" in 2030s. They anticipate flooding to severely damage infrastructure and displacement communities.
The study is alarming, but the lunar wobble, which was first described in 1728, is actually a natural phenomenon. Periods of higher and lower tides are caused by the moon's orbit about every 18.6 year. They aren't necessarily dangerous.
NASA says that Earth's normal daily tides have been suppressed for half of the Moon’s 18.6-year-long cycle. High tides are lower than usual, while low tides rise higher than usual. The tides in the second half of the cycle are amplified. High tides rise and low tides fall. The global sea-level rise only pushes high tides in one direction: higher. The effect of sea-level rising on high tides is countered by half of the lunar cycle (18.6 years), and the other half amplifies it.
Scientists are now more worried this time. The sea-level rise caused by climate change means that the next high tide floods will be more severe and frequent than ever, thereby accelerating already dire predictions.
