Front Lines: Rising Seas: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine faces significant risks from sea level rise, with projections indicating a rise of 3.5 to 5.9 feet by 2100. Without preventive measures, the installation is expected to experience frequent tidal flooding, the loss of over 25% of its land area in the highest scenario, and increased vulnerability to storm surges from Category 1 and 2 hurricanes. The document argues that there is a growing gap between current military preparedness and these threats, calling for increased funding and high-resolution modeling from Congress and the Department of Defense.

• Sea levels in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard area are projected to rise between 3.5 and 5.9 feet by the year 2100.
• Tidal flooding frequency is expected to increase sharply; by 2050, low-lying areas could see between 80 and 190 floods per year, and by 2070, some areas could be underwater more than 15 percent of the time under the highest scenario.
• Under the highest sea level rise scenario, more than 25% of the shipyard's land area, including operational sites, would become part of the tidal zone.
• Storm surge vulnerability will increase by 2100; the highest scenario predicts a 20% increase in the area exposed to Category 1 and 2 storms, and the intermediate scenario suggests 25% of the base would face flood depths of five feet or more from a Category 1 storm.
• There is a significant and widening gap between the current level of military preparedness and the projected threats of sea level rise.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). Front Lines: Rising Seas: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine. https://www.ucs.org/resources/front-lines-rising-seas-portsmouth-naval-shipyard-maine

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Front Lines: Rising Seas: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine. 2016. https://www.ucs.org/resources/front-lines-rising-seas-portsmouth-naval-shipyard-maine.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Front Lines: Rising Seas: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine |date=15 July 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/front-lines-rising-seas-portsmouth-naval-shipyard-maine |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016front, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Front Lines: Rising Seas: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/front-lines-rising-seas-portsmouth-naval-shipyard-maine}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }