Waves are getting bigger and surf at least 13 feet tall is becoming more common off California’s coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years.
“Until I stumbled upon this data set, it was almost impossible to make that comparison with any kind of reliability,” Bromirski said.
Bromirski was also surprised to find extended periods of exceptionally low wave heights prior to about 1970 and none of those periods since. Damage from intense storms and massive surf is already playing out. This winter, California’s severe storms and giant waves collapsed bluffs, damaged piers and flooded parts of the state’s picturesque Highway 1.
These issues are of particular concern along the California coast, where sea cliffs have already started crumbling and brought down homes in recent years. Because of sea level rise, projections at the end of the 21st century indicate even moderate waves might cause damage comparable to that of extreme weather events, according to the study.
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