'King tides' globally show risks of climate change: Photos

Scientists, nature lovers, and amateurs are filming the moments in their cameras to document the effects of extreme high tides on shorelines from the United States to New Zealand. They are helping to better predict the rising sea levels which pose a threat to coastal communities around the world. A team of volunteer photographers around the globe captured king tides to identify how high the waterline gets and where the water goes. They then upload the pictures which is further used by scientists, policymakers and even city planners for studies and preparation for the effects of climate change. 

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Team uses crowdsourcing to gather images

The photos reveal where the flooding takes place on specific areas and provide hints if it is safe to construct housing in close proximity to those areas.  Skip Stiles, executive director of Wetlands Watch, said that the king tides offers a look at where the water will be in about 2050, about a foot to a foot and half (30 to 46 centimeters) above normal water levels. The effort of the group has now expanded into a smartphone app that uses crowdsourcing to gather images and pinpoint flooding. The first of these King Tide Projects which involved the public began in 2009 in Australia.

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Idea spreading rapidly in coastal states

Gradually, the idea has now spread to over a dozen coastal states in the U.S., British Columbia, New Zealand, Mauritius and beyond. The King Tides occurs about twice a year in the coastal areas worldwide when the sun and moon align resulting in a gravitational pull that produces normal tides. These high tides came into focus in January with one taking place at Oregon on the same day as a major winter storm, creating 15 to 20-foot (4.6 to 6.1 meter) waves. The scientists are preparing to document this winter's final king tide scheduled February 8-10 off the US West Coast followed by one in New Zealand on February 12. 

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