Help Scientists See the Future: California King Tides Project 2020 to 2021

This image shows the stairway to the beach at Tidelands Park. An ultra-low tide is pictured on the left and an ultra-high tide on the right.

What is the California King Tides Project? Scientists need you to be their eyes on the ocean December 13–15, 2020 and—if you live north of Point Conception—January 11 and 12, 2021. On these dates, the California coast will experience King Tides, the highest tides of the year. These extreme tides often encroach on infrastructure, submerging coastal access stairways, swallowing beach-side trails, overwhelming boardwalks, surging into storm-drains, and flooding roads. They can also inundate coastal habitats that aren’t typically submerged, like higher marsh areas or even dune scrub. With the rate of sea level rise increasing worldwide, what we consider …

Help Scientists See the Future: California King Tides Project 2020

January 3, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program CA King Tides california king tides California King Tides Project citizen science climate change coastal flooding community science King Tides morro bay morro bay estuary sea level rise Blog Posts

What is the California King Tides Project? Scientists need you to be their eyes on the ocean between January 10–12 and February 8–9, 2020. On these dates, the California coast will experience the highest tides of the year, commonly called King Tides. These extreme tides often encroach on infrastructure, submerging coastal access stairways, swallowing beach-side trails, overwhelming boardwalks, surging into storm-drains, and flooding roads. They can also inundate coastal habitats that aren’t typically submerged, like higher marsh areas or even dune scrub. With the rate of sea level rise increasing worldwide, what we consider ultra-high tides today may be …

Preview Sea Level Rise with King Tides in Morro Bay

December 15, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program #MBKingTidesContest CA King Tides California King Tides Project climate change Morro Bay coastal resilience King Tides MBNEP morro bay morro bay estuary national estuary program sea level rise Blog Posts

The highest tides of the year are on their way. These tides, commonly called King Tides, often encroach on infrastructure along California’s coast. They submerge stairways to the beach, overwhelm boardwalks, surge into storm-drain systems, flood roads, and even crash against the windows of waterfront buildings. Read on to see what causes these tides, how they affect Morro Bay, why they matter, and what you can do to help. (Read all the way through to find info on our Morro Bay King Tides Photo Contest.) What causes King Tides These exceptionally high tides occur each winter when: Earth …

King Tides and Morro Bay: A Glimpse into the Future

December 1, 2017 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program estuary King Tides king tides project MBNEP morro bay noaa Blog Posts

King Tides high and low comparison at the Tidelands staircase in Morro Bay.

Have you ever wondered what sea level rise might look like in the future? The naturally occurring King Tides, the highest tides of the year, could provide some insight into that question. They occur annually during the winter when the earth, moon, and sun are all aligned and the earth is closest to the sun. (The astronomical term that describes when the earth is closest to the sun is the “perihelion.”) King Tides push coastal boundaries by engulfing the bottoms of stairwells and raising the water level up to the very tops of piers. King Tides in Morro …

Help Scientists See the Future in King Tides

December 9, 2016 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program citizen science climate change estuary estuary program King Tides morro bay sea level rise Blog Posts

The boat ramp was also inundated by the high water.

At the Estuary Program office, tides rule much of our work. We plan our eelgrass monitoring surveys around them. We schedule our dawn patrol and bay bacteria volunteer sessions based on them. We watch as boats, birds, and marine mammals move with the pull of the high and low tides outside our office windows. King Tides are the highest tides of the year, and they demand extra attention. Before the boardwalk trail was built at the State Park marina, King Tides regularly inundated the dirt trail along the salt marsh’s edge. They raise docks to their uppermost limits and …