Warming study takes look at Gulf Coast region

A new government report offers a grim forecast of global warming's long-term impact on the Gulf Coast, warning that "a vast portion ... from Houston to Mobile may be inundated in the future."

The report comes as the Senate today is set to take up landmark legislation aimed at gradually rolling back the United States' emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

The predicted flooding, resulting from rising sea levels and sinking land surfaces, would occur within the next 50 to 100 years, according to the report, released last month by the National Science and Technology Council, a federal advisory body.

While the effects would fall outside the lifespans of most adults today, they could be felt by their children and grandchildren.

Titled "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States," the report is essentially a round-up of previous work on climate change. The section on the Gulf Coast is an adaptation of a separate study released earlier this year.

Although rising seas will threaten coastal areas around the country, the Gulf Coast "is facing much higher increases" because much of the region is subsiding as the result of soil compaction, the researchers concluded.

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