Government officials and local academics are looking to an ocean event on Monday for clues about the effects of climate change and its future impacts. The clue, one researcher said, can be found in the tide.
The King Tide for 2023 is expected to roll in at 9:05 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27. King Tide is a non-scientific term referring to the highest tide of the year, resulting in the greatest motion of ocean water past the shoreline.
Rising sea levels brought on by climate change are making agencies like Planning and Natural Resources anxious to know how sea level rise might affect tidal movements. This will be the third year that DPNR has worked with the University of the Virgin Islands to gauge how far inland the tide will move past the coastline.
Dr. Gregory Guannel, Director of the Green Caribbean Technology Center (GCTC) says planners need to keep the latest high tide information at hand to stay ahead of inland flooding scenarios. “If the water level is high enough, if you have a wave or a storm surge you can have an overtopping,” Guannel said.
To document this year’s King Tides, research teams plan to visit places with buildings and infrastructure located near shorelines. “Everywhere where you have a structure that’s close to the water … anywhere where you can see how close the water’s getting to the structures,” the director said. “When those structures were built, they did not think they would be impacted by wave action.”
If enough reliable information is collected it may help decision-makers take steps to lessen the impact of tide-driven flooding events, Guannel said.
Some of the places with previously documented King Tides include Coki Point, Lindbergh Bay, Brewer’s Bay, Cruz Bay near the Boynes Ferry Dock, and both terminals of the Seaplane Shuttle — one in Charlotte Amalie, the other on St. Croix.
And even as the term climate change has become accepted by the public as a credible concept, there are a small number of citizens who have offered to help monitor King Tides. Some University of the Virgin Islands students have stepped in to help, but this year Guannel said many will be getting ready for Fall Semester final exams.
For those who are willing to help, the Green Caribbean Center has posted instructions for measuring King Tide movements and for creating photo documentation.
