Waves in Europe are getting higher, threatening coastal residents

Massive waves poured over English sea defenses during the cold and stormy winter of 2013-2014. These waves were the most powerful scientists have ever recorded on Europe's Atlantic coastline.

The storms that generated these waves may have been unusually intense, but they were part of a trend that is putting coastal communities at greater risk. In a study published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists found that wave heights have risen everywhere along the west coast of Europe — from Scotland down to coastlines north of Portugal — over nearly the last 70 years. 

Taller waves can wash over traditional defenses against storms, and flood communities that lie behind these sea walls.  Read more...

More about Science, Extreme Weather, Climate Change, Coastal Flooding, and Waves

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