Transport networks in the United States could be devastated as a result of climate change, according to new reports from government experts and independent scientists.

Rising sea levels, surges, and subsidence will impact on coastal roads, railways and airports. And according to a new report from the US National Academies the current use of previous decades’ experience by transport planners is no longer good enough (report summary; full report; sample press coverage from AP, Reuters).

“The time has come for transportation professionals to acknowledge and confront the challenges posed by climate change, and to incorporate the most current scientific knowledge into the planning of transportation systems,” says Henry Schwartz, chair of the committee that drew up the report (press release).

Schwartz’s group wants more research on design standards, changes in federal regulations to ensure better planning and infrastructure and generally more attention paid to the problem.

The New York Times links the Academies’ missive with a wider ranging draft report from a whole host of government agencies: Coastal elevations and sensitivity to sea level rise. It doesn’t make nice reading for coastal residents.

As well as warning of the impact on transport links, this report says between 900-2100 square km of dry land (half being in North Carolina) will be flooded during spring high tides if seas rise 50 cm. In the mid-Atlantic region it is “virtually certain” that coastal headlands, spits, and barrier islands will also erode. Between 900,000 and 3,400,000 people “live on parcels of land or city blocks with at least some land less than 100 cm above spring high water”.

You’d think whole city blocks being underwater would be more of an issue than some roads washing away, but maybe protecting a city is easier than protecting a whole coastline. Either job is a pretty sizable one though…

Image: Detail from “Storm Waves” in “The Aerial World,” by Dr. G. Hartwig, London, 1886. / Treasures of the NOAA Library Collection