Florida is the most vulnerable state to sea level rise (SLR) due to large population concentrations (> 2 million people) living at low elevation along the state's 2,000 kilometer-long coastline. Many communities in Florida have been affected by coastal flooding induced mainly by storm surge, high tide, and heavy rain. A case study analysis of recurrence flooding in one community, Miami Beach, revealed a significant increase in flooding frequency since the mid-2000s, due to a decadal-scale acceleration in the rate of SLR. Similar decadal-scale SLR acceleration rates have occurred along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida and correlate with weakening conditions of the Florida Current/Gulf Stream system. Interestingly, the strong correlations between high sea levels and weak Florida Current/Gulf Stream conditions also began in the mid 2000s during a period of reduced sea level response to El Niño/La Niña events.

Dr. Shimon Wdowinski is an associate professor at the Department of Earth & Environment, Florida Interational University, where he teaches and researches geology and geophysics. He has authored over 90 peer-reviewed articles and has been funded by NASA, NSF, and USGS. His work has focused on the development and usage of space geodetic techniques that can detect very precisely small movements of the Earth's surface. He successfully applied these technologies to study tectonic plate motion, natural hazards and environmental phenomena, such as earthquakes, sinkholes, land subsidence, wetland surface flow, and sea level rise.

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