Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Sea Level Rising More Rapidly Near São Paulo

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 16 2012 (IPS) - The sea level of the Atlantic Ocean is rising increasingly rapidly on the northern coast of the southern Brazilian state of São Paulo, according to a new university research study. "We estimated a rise of 74 centimeters over the past century, but the increase was more marked during the last two decades," said professor Paolo Alfredini, coordinator of the research at the Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering of the University of São Paulo. The study analyzed measurements taken between 1944 and 2007.

The acceleration is due to an increase in global temperatures during the period studied. "We predict that the sea level will rise by close to a meter this century, which will mean the loss of 100 meters of beachfront in gradually sloping coastal areas," Alfredini told Tierramérica

This phenomenon poses a threat to buildings constructed on the Atlantic coast and could lead to problems with the supply of drinking water in coastal cities, due to growing salinization of rivers, the research study warns.