(The King tides are still present in Oyster Harbor due to local weather conditions, as of Dec 18th)
Reprint from Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Dec/Jan 2012 Issue with inserted local photos from Oyster Harbor.
Maryland is set experience some of the season's highest tides December 12 through 15 and theCoastSmart Communities program is asking for citizens' help in documenting the tides by taking pictures of high water and flooding around their neighborhoods and submitting them here.
King Tides as they are often called, give researchers a potential look at what future sea level rise may look like. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_tide)
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| Step onto Fishing Creek Pier during December's King Tide |
These photographs will be used in educational and outreach materials to build awareness on how coastal flooding affects Maryland's shoreline. Building a photo library will help researchers understand how floods are impacting area schools, homes, harbors, beaches, public access points and other public infrastructure. CoastSmart will then use this information to create a plan for communities that may experience coastal hazards and increased flooding in the future.
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| Fishing Creek Pier during December's King Tide |
King Tides are not sea level rise and are not related to climate change. If the State and its citizens do not take action however, these tides show what communities could experience as a result of future sea level rise. As sea levels continue to rise, these areas will become more at-risk to the impacts of storm surge, flooding and other coastal hazards, such as Hurricane Sandy. An Environmental Protection Agency fact sheet on King Tides is available here.
For more information on the Maryland King Tides Initiative, including a chart showing when and where tides will be highest and instructions on how to submit a photo, participants should visit dnr.state.md.us/coastsmart/king_tide.asp. To check out the photo submissions, visitwww.flickr.com/groups/MarylandKingTides.
Those with questions or comments may contact Maryland Department of Natural Resources' CoastSmart Communities Planner, Kate Skaggs, at 410-260-8743 or kskaggs@dnr.state.md.us.
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| Additional Fishing Creek Pier Photo |
