Oceanographer To Talk LI Climate Change At Oyster Bay Group Event

OYSTER BAY, NY — An oceanographer will speak Thursday on how climate change could affect Long Island as part of a free event hosted by environmental advocates in Oyster Bay.

Dr. Alison Branco of The Nature Conservancy will speak as part of Friends of the Bay's 2020 online Speaker Series. The presentation also covers how Long Islanders can adapt to life with significantly more water. The online presentation, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, is open to the public. Participants must register by emailing info@friendsofthebay.org.

Branco specializes in measuring and assessing how humans change marine ecosystems. She previously served as head of the Peconic Estuary Program and as lead oceanographer at WorleyParsons in Australia, leading projects that predict how dredging affects temperate and tropical primary producer habitat. She developed monitoring and management programs for coastal developments, including ports, pipelines, and aquaculture operations.

Friends of the Bay is an organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological integrity and productivity of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary and the surrounding watershed.

Last year, the United Nations released a report that said global temperatures were rising faster than predicted just few years earlier that and could lead to massive sea level increases.

The report, released when world leaders gathered in New York for the UN Climate Summit, said increased temperatures could cause melting ice caps that would raise sea levels worldwide, including on Long Island.

If greenhouse gas emissions sharply declined and global warming was kept below two degrees Celsius, sea levels could still rise by up to 2 feet by 2100. If nothing is done, the report said that rise could be nearly 4 feet.

On Long Island, a 2-foot increase would inundate many coastal communities. Long Beach would see even more flooding than it does now. The northern bay-side of many South Shore beaches would be gone. The entire Long Island coastline would move further inland than it is now, destroying many homes.

A 4-foot sea rise, though, would be much worse. The entire community of Island Park would be underwater. Sections of Long Beach would be uninhabitable. The southern end of Westhampton Beach would be gone.

The North Shore wouldn't escape the deluge, either. Sunken Meadow Park would sink. The Nissequogue River would dramatically expand and flood its banks.