More than two-thirds of California’s beaches in danger of disappearing by end of century

A rising sea level could dramatically alter the state’s famous coastal landscape

Up to 70 per cent of California’s iconic beaches are in danger of disappearing by the end of the century due the effects of climate change, a new study has found.

To conduct the study, researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) used models to predict how climate change-driven sea level rise could wash away sizable portion’s of the state’s coastline by the year 2100. The USGS’s findings are in the process of being peer-reviewed.

The extent to which California is danger of losing its coastline is largely dependent on the severity of climate change in the coming decades. A more minor rise in sea level of 1.6 feet would see the state lose a fraction of its coast as compared to a 10 foot rise in sea level that could see more than two thirds of the state’s beaches disappear.

Of course, a rising sea level is not the only threat California is facing due to climate change. The state is already experiencing changes in the duration and intensity of wildfire season, with fire risks now adjuged to be so serious that State Farm, the largest homeowner insurance provider in the state, is no longer offering new policies to California homeowners.

The new study, meanwhile, is more evidence that the state’s susceptibility to the impacts of climate change extend to its beaches.

“Beaches are perhaps the most iconic feature of California, and the potential for losing this identity is real,” Sean Vitousek, the lead researcher on the study, wrote in a comment reported by The Guardian. “Losing the protecting swath of beach sand between us and the pounding surf exposes critical infrastructure, businesses and homes to damage. Beaches are natural resources, and it is likely that human-management efforts must increase in order to preserve them.”

Mr Vitousek also led a 2017 research project that studied the coastal erosion in Southern California and found, similarly, that the region could lose up to two-thirds of its beaches in the coming decades. Researchers have identified a number of specific areas, including Humboldt Bay in Northern California and Newport Beach in Southern California, as particularly at risk in the coming decades.

As a result of these studies, the California Coastal Commission is urging muncipalities to take a range of steps to combat coastal erosion including the construction of seawalls and the restoration of natural sand dunes.

If beaches in California due begin to disappear, they would likely become more difficult to access for people who do not live close by — disproportionately communities of color and lower-income Californians.