Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Wet Feet?

Residents of Halifax may have very wet feet by the end of the century if sea levels continue to rise and Nova Scotia continues to sink as expected.
Particularly in storm surge conditions, much of the waterfront will be under water.
A presentation to City Council recently is shown on the following (it is a large file, so be patient)

https://www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/100209cow4.pdf

Although the study does not show the commercial port, one can imagine the effects on container piers, shipyards and other installations if sea levels rise as predicted.
Solutions: a Thames Tidal Barrier type of gate system seems out of the question due to the exposed harbour entrance and the size of ships we expect here.
A lip around the edge? Maybe, but there will be places where that won't work. For example container cranes will need to be raised to reach the top of ships.
Floating landing stages? We have those at the ferry terminals but the land side will still be under water.
It looks to me like a massive undertaking to raise sea walls, elevate certain areas and rebuild many others.

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