U.S. Sea Level Rise - Intermediate (2020)

The sea level rise (SLR) coastal inundation layers were created using existing federal products: the (1) [NOAA Coastal Digital Elevation Models (DEMs)] and (2) [2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report Data Files]. The DEMs for the Continental United States (CONUS) are provided in North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD 88) and were converted to Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) using the [NOAA VDatum conversion surfaces]; the elevation values are in meters (m). The NOAA Scenarios of Future Mean Sea Level are provided in centimeters (cm). The MHHW DEMs for CONUS were merged and converted to cm and Scenarios of Future Mean Sea Level were subtracted from the merged DEM. Values below 0 represent areas that are below sea level and are “remapped” to 1, all values above 0 are remapped to “No Data”, creating a map that shows only areas impacted by SLR. Areas protected by levees in Louisiana and Texas were then masked or removed from the results. This was done for each of the emissions scenarios (Lower Emissions = 2022 Intermediate SLR Scenario Higher Emissions = 2022 Intermediate High SLR Scenario) at each of the mapped time intervals (Early Century - Year 2030, Middle Century - Year 2050, and Late Century - Year 2090). The resulting maps are displayed in the CMRA Assessment Tool. County, tract, and tribal geographies summaries of percentage SLR inundation were also calculated using Zonal Statistics tools. The Sea Level Rise Scenario year 2020 is considered “baseline” and the impacts are calculated by subtracting the baseline value from each of the near-term, mid-term and long-term timeframes. General Disclaimer The data and maps in this tool illustrate the scale of potential flooding, not the exact location, and do not account for erosion, subsidence, or future construction. Water levels are relative to Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) (excludes wind driven tides). The data, maps, and information provided should be used only as a screening-level tool for management decisions. As with all remotely sensed data, all features should be verified with a site visit. Hydroconnectivity was not considered in the mapping process. The data and maps in this tool are provided “as is,” without warranty to their performance, merchantable state, or fitness for any particular purpose. The entire risk associated with the results and performance of these data is assumed by the user. This tool should be used strictly as a planning reference tool and not for navigation, permitting, or other legal purposes. SLR visualizations and statistics are not available in CMRA for Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories at this time. Levees Disclaimer Enclosed levee areas are displayed as gray areas on the maps. Major federal leveed areas were assumed high enough and strong enough to protect against inundation depicted in this viewer, and therefore no inundation was mapped in these regions. Major federal leveed areas were taken from the [National Levee Database]. Minor (nonfederal) leveed areas were mapped using the best available elevation data that capture leveed features. In some cases, however, breaks in elevation occur along leveed areas because of flood control features being removed from elevation data, limitations of the horizontal and vertical resolution of the elevation data, the occurrence of levee drainage features, and so forth. Flooding behind levees is only depicted if breaks in elevation data occur or if the levee elevations are overtopped by the water surface. At some flood levels, alternate pathways around—not through—levees, walls, dams, and flood gates may exist that allow water to flow into areas protected at lower levels. In general, imperfect levee and elevation data make assessing protection difficult, and small data errors can have large consequences. Citations [2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report] - Sweet, W.V., B.D. Hamlington, R.E. Kopp, C.P. Weaver, P.L. Barnard, D. Bekaert, W. Brooks, M. Craghan, G. Dusek, T. Frederikse, G. Garner, A.S. Genz, J.P. Krasting, E. Larour, D. Marcy, J.J. Marra, J. Obeysekera, M. Osler, M. Pendleton, D. Roman, L. Schmied, W. Veatch, K.D. White, and C. Zuzak, 2022: Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States: Updated Mean Projections and Extreme Water Level Probabilities Along U.S. Coastlines. NOAA Technical Report NOS 01. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, MD, 111 pp. [https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/noaa-nostechrpt01-global-regional-SLR-scenarios-US.pdf]