Modeling Sea Level Rise in Google Earth
Materials: ★★☆ Available in most school laboratories or specialist stores
Difficulty: ★☆☆ Can be easily done by most teenagers
Safety: ★☆☆ Minimal safety procedures required
Categories: Global Systems, Sustainability, Water Cycle
Alternative titles: How to Drown Your Town
Summary
This demonstration shows how to model and visualize sea level rise anywhere in the world using Google Earth. By overlaying a transparent color layer at a set elevation, users can simulate the effects of rising sea levels on cities and coastlines, helping to illustrate potential impacts of climate change.
Procedure
- Choose some significant places of importance and find them on Google Earth.
- Use the method in the Links section to model raising sea levels.
Links
📄 How to #DrownYourTown: a step by step guide to modeling sea level rise in Google Earth - Andrew Thaler: https://www.southernfriedscience.com/how-to-drownyourtown-a-step-by-step-guide-to-modelling-sea-level-rise-in-google-earth/
Variations
- Create multiple overlays to represent different sea level rise scenarios (e.g., 1 m, 5 m, 10 m).
- Use different colors for water levels, pollution, or flood zones.
- Combine overlays with real climate or elevation data for greater accuracy.
- Use a purchased software solution to show rising sea levels.
Safety Precautions
- No physical safety risks, but always verify data accuracy before sharing results publicly.
- Acknowledge that this is a visualization tool, not a precise scientific model.
Questions to Consider
- How might rising sea levels impact coastal communities? (They can cause flooding, loss of land, and displacement of people.)
- Why is it important to visualize sea level rise locally? (It helps people connect abstract climate concepts to their own environment.)
- What limitations does this Google Earth model have? (It uses approximate topography and does not account for tides, storm surges, or land elevation changes.)
- How can such visualizations support environmental education and policy discussions? (They make data accessible and compelling, motivating awareness and action on climate change.)