Local climate scientists present sea level rise projections

The Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel finds that the region is likely to face between 1.9 and 8.5 feet of sea level rise by the year 2100.

PINELLAS PARK — A group of local scientists has been working on and off for months to come up with Tampa Bay-area projections for sea level rise.

Their verdict: the problem is getting worse.

The Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel, a group of climate scientists that formed in 2014, presented its findings to a Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council committee Monday. They found that the region is likely to face between 1.9 and 8.5 feet of sea level rise by the year 2100.

The projections are the group's second round of local sea level rise predictions. The current forecasts are 12 to 18 inches higher than their 2015 estimates on average.

Maya Burke, who sits on the advisory panel and who presented the findings Monday, said the projections have gotten more dire for two reasons. One, global greenhouse gas emissions have risen since 2015. Two, scientists understand how arctic ice melt contributes to sea level rise better today than they did a half-decade ago.