Belfast is Leading the Planet with Hyper-local Tide Data and Community Planning for Sea Level Rise

Title

Belfast is Leading the Planet with Hyper-local Tide Data and Community Planning for Sea Level Rise

Subject

Unveiling of Belfast's new tide gauges and high water mark signs on October 8, 2021

Description

If you missed the recent unveiling of Belfast's 3 tide gauges and the High Water Marks project, there are so many amazing things about these projects!

The All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues (ABCD) team (Brenda, Sarah and Misty) were in attendance, along with 40+ other people. It was exciting for me to witness and be part of the community sharing this moment - 3 years in the making, and so many different organizations and people who made it happen. Now we don't have to rely on the NOAA tide stations in Portland and Bar Harbor for tidal data - Belfast is gathering hyper-local data so we can better understand what is happening right here with sea level rise and storm surges. I think about this every time I'm at work at Nautilus Seafood & Grill and we are having a big storm or very high tides!

The ABCD team re-watched the video of the event and wanted to share some of our favorite highlights:

Did you know Belfast is LEADING. THE. PLANET. in collecting hyper-localized tide data with really new technology...and we are at the front lines of community planning for sea level rise?

Here's the video of the event:
https://vimeo.com/627482836

>> On your next harborwalk outing, check out the newly installed High Water Mark signs - in the Front Street Shipyard, and by the breakwater.

>> Be sure to ask your favorite Belfast Area High School student about the tide gauge the students designed and installed! (See their presentation at about the 21:00 minute mark in the video.)

>> And finally... learn about the newest of the 3 tide gauges, recently installed by Divirod in partnership with US Harbors of Rockland. Belfast, along with Camden, Rockport, Rockland and Tenants Harbor, is the very first participant in US Harbors' national pilot program to collect hyper-local tide data for predicting storm surge trends and understanding sea level rise. Anastasia Fischer of US Harbors (12:03 mark in the video) noted that this is "evidently the most dense, real live, realtime tidal network anywhere on the planet at this point - so give yourselves a big pat on the back! ... Having these hyper-local stations is really going to give us the actual data for what's happening where we are. So to speak to Belfast... [it is] astounding what you guys have here in your Climate Crisis Committe - you should really be proud of the group of people that are running this committee, the students that are participating, and everybody in the populace of Belfast that has access to this information .... This kind of planning is not happening in most communities.... you all are on the front facing line of showing other people what a model for this would look like."
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Do you have questions, concerns or personal thoughts about sea level rise in Belfast? Share your thoughts with the us at All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues (ABCD) project!

Creator

Misty Mallar

Date

October 8, 2021

Contributor

Belfast Community Media

Citation

Misty Mallar, “Belfast is Leading the Planet with Hyper-local Tide Data and Community Planning for Sea Level Rise,” All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues, accessed March 28, 2024, https://abcdbelfast.omeka.net/items/show/41.

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