Sea Could Swallow NYC

Scientists are predicting that New York City's eventual spectacular demise may be less Ghostbusters and more Waterworld. Sea levels will likely rise faster near metro NYC than other port cities, new forecasts show, thanks to local effects of gravity, water density, and ocean currents. As scientists try to more accurately predict the future, Gotham has become a testing ground for engineering new ways for coastal cities to adapt to climate change. The city is uniquely vulnerable—unlike Amsterdam or New Orleans, New York was not built below sea level, so the threat is not to buildings but to its vast underground infrastructure. And even now the city is perpetually battling the Atlantic; millions of gallons are pumped out of the subways every day, and the right hurricane conditions could flood 100 square miles of New York. But if the ocean were to rise 20 inches, the Big Apple "would look like Venice."