nanog mailing list archives

Re: Rising sea levels are going to mess with the internet


From: Rod Beck <rod.beck () unitedcablecompany com>
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2018 17:12:43 +0000

Easy way to settle it. Look at Hurricane Sandy and Katrina. If they had no effect on terrestrial cables, then this is 
probably a misplaced concern.


- R.


________________________________
From: Naslund, Steve <SNaslund () medline com>
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2018 7:10 PM
To: Rod Beck; nanog () nanog org
Subject: RE: Rising sea levels are going to mess with the internet


I know of tons of manholes that are continuously full of water every time I have been out to them, I am pretty sure 
those cables have dealt with the immersion for quite a number of years.



Steven Naslund

Chicago IL





I don't have a strong feeling on this matter, but it is not the average increase that matters. Every small increase in 
average has a multiplier effect on storm surge.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/10/23/1715895114.

Rising hazard of storm-surge flooding<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/10/23/1715895114>
www.pnas.org
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is one for the history books. It has blown a number of records out of the water. 
Harvey dumped more rain on the United States than any previous hurricane. Irma maintained the highest category 5 longer 
than any storm anywhere in the world. September 2017 has accumulated the most cyclone energy of any month on record in 
the Atlantic. Last, but not least, if early estimates of damages hold up, three of the five costliest storms in US 
history will have occurred this year: Harvey, Irma, and Maria (1⇓–3). The other two are Katrina and Sandy, which 
flooded New Orleans in 2005 and New York in 2012 (Fig. 1), respectively. A new study in PNAS by Garner et al. (4) 
tackles a critical and highly topical question: How will coastal flood risk change in the future on a warming Earth? 
They approach this question in a case study for New York, but most coastal cities in the world will be facing similar 
issues in the coming decades and, indeed, centuries. Fig. 1. Map of New York City floodi




Nonetheless, my guess is that the real threat is to general property close to the shore, not the terrestrial cables 
even though they are not waterproof (only submarine cable can handle long term immersion).



Regards,



Roderick.



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