High tide is expected to be unusually high Thursday, and the California Coastal Commission is asking people to capture the event with a photo. It’s to help scientists visualize and study sea level rise around the world.
The California King Tides Project is a part of an international program. People take pictures of their local coastline during a king tide, which is typically the highest tide of the year.
Serena Lee is an Oceanographer from Australia, who is currently researching sea level rise at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Lee said this year’s El Nino conditions are already bringing unusually high tides.
But, this week’s King tides will be even bigger – perhaps as much as two feet above what people expect as the high water mark on their local beaches. She said that’s why the California Coastal Commission is asking people to participate in the California King Tides Project.
“If we capture images of where the water level is on our Coastline, we're going to capture the highest tide of the year,” Lee said.
The project asks people to take photos of the coast to help scientists study the ocean’s high tide and sea level.
“The more images we provide of our particular area, the more in-depth understanding we can get about the water level variation. It kind of gives us a little bit of a sneak peek of what our future high water levels might be as sea levels change,” Lee said.
If people want to participate, Lee warns them to stay safe by capturing the tide from a far distance, away from waves, rocks and jetties.
Along the central coast, the King tides are predicted to come with the morning high tide, between 8:30 and 9:30.
People can upload their photos here.
