A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History shows how global warming could put much of lower Manhattan underwater.
Melting ice sheets could cause sea levels to rise between three and five meters, but not for hundreds of years, curators said.
A model of lower Manhattan shows the effect of the rising waters. At three meters, a several-block perimeter will be totally flooded. At five meters, the bottom halves of most buildings will be submerged.
“I see this as the biggest problem human beings have to face,” said Princeton professor Michael Oppenheimer, the show’s curator.
The scenario of a flooded Manhattan is unlikely to ever occur, Oppenheimer said, because the city would have ample time to build higher seawalls and pumping systems.
“Climate Change: The Threat to Life and a New Energy Future,” opens Saturday and runs through August 2009.