Coastal flooding

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/coastal-flooding

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the anthropogenic exacerbation?Groundwater extraction leading to land subsidence; engineered defenses altering natural processes
2. Why does coastal flooding get worse now?Climate change makes sea levels higher and storms stronger. More people live near the coast, so more damage can happen. Groundwater pumping can also lower the land, making it easier for water to come in.
3. How do storm surges cause flooding?Storm surges happen when strong winds push sea water up against the coast. The water rises higher than normal tides, flooding low places. They are especially big during spring tides.

Coastal flooding: The inundation of land areas adjacent to the coast by seawater, driven by elevated sea levels and wave action.
Storm surge: An abnormal rise in sea level generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tide, often causing significant coastal flooding.
Land subsidence: The gradual sinking or settling of the Earth's surface, often caused by the removal of subsurface fluids like groundwater, which can increase coastal flood vulnerability.
Nature-based solutions: Strategies that use natural processes and ecosystems, such as wetlands and dunes, to address environmental challenges like coastal flooding.