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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n Sea levels<\/a> along the West Coast will begin to rise by up to a foot this month as a series of pulses of warm water called Kelvin waves hit the shoreline and move north, sparking concerns about beach erosion and flooding in areas already impacted by climate change and El Ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n Kelvin waves are not like tsunamis, and they don’t curl over and crash on the beach. A better image is water sloshing in the bathtub or a swimming pool during an earthquake. In the ocean, they are bulges of water that lift the sea level as they move along the coast. They’re common during El Ni\u00f1o events, but this year\u2019s super El Ni\u00f1o could intensify the impacts, experts say.<\/p>\n Over the next week, the 6-inch to foot-tall surge will move north along the California coast at about 6 miles per hour (9.6 kilometers per hour), or 150 miles per day (241 kilometers per day), bringing higher sea levels to Oregon and Washington state. Experts predict the waves will continue to pass through from October until February. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that this Kelvin wave is going to come and flood anything on its own,\u201d said Michael Jacox, a research oceanographer with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries\u2019 Ecosystem Science Division. <\/p>\n Instead, it raises the baseline.<\/p>\n If you start with sea levels that are 6 inches higher than normal, when you have really high tides, big storms or storm surges, the water levels are now 6 inches higher, he said. \u201cThe effects can be amplified,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The waves also increase ocean temperatures and push cold, nutrient-rich waters deeper below the surface, which has an impact on marine life. <\/p>\n Here’s what to know about Kelvin waves.<\/p>\n How does a Kelvin wave form? <\/p>\n Kelvin waves are a \u201cfact of life\u201d during an El Ni\u00f1o, a naturally occurring climate pattern involving the warming ocean waters, said Dillon Amaya, an assistant professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University.<\/p>\n They form when the trade winds along the equator change direction. <\/p>\n Winds blowing east to west along the equator push water in the Pacific<\/a> Ocean west toward Asia, Jacox said. When those winds weaken or reverse direction, that bulge of water gets pushed back toward the east along the equator until it hits South America.<\/p>\n When the surge of water hits the coastline at the equator, it moves north and south along the North and South American coasts. <\/p>\n The wave isn’t visible to the naked eye and they won’t cause boats to go up and down, Amaya said. It’s more like a big pancake. It’s wider than it’s deep: The bulge extends 12 to 20 miles (19 to 32 kilometers) off the coast and about 200 meters deep, Amaya said. <\/p>\n What are the potential impacts of Kelvin waves? <\/p>\n Many coastal communities are already grappling with the impacts of rising sea levels, like the coastal erosion eating away at the beach in San Clemente, California. Waves<\/a> are also getting bigger, experts say.<\/p>\n The higher sea levels could exacerbate those problems.<\/p>\n
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