Video: Sea Level Rise Webcast

June 2, 2015

In a live webcast held June 1, 2015, experts discussed sea level rise in conjunction with the opening of a new photography exhibition at the Aquarium, Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change, organized by the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. The exhibition examines housing and infrastructure responses to rising seas, coastal flooding, and increasingly powerful storm surges tied to global climate change. Sink or Swim will be on view in the Aquarium’s Great Hall through September 15, 2015.

Webcast speakers include Frances Anderton, guest curator for the exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography; Dan Cayan, research meteorologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Patrick H. West, Long Beach city manager; and Dr. Jerry Schubel, Aquarium of the Pacific president and CEO.

They discussed sea level rise and its potential threats to Southern California, and West announced a collaborative project led by the Aquarium to assess Long Beach’s climate resiliency. While sea level rise is a complex, longterm problem, there is cause for optimism, the speakers said. “Humans have a tremendous capacity to adapt, and we must build our way out of this problem,” Anderton said.

Video of the full webcast: