Aldaron Laird has been studying the effects of sea level rise on the Humboldt Bay for the past 10 years. He says that Humboldt Bay is experiencing the fastest rate of sea level rise on the West Coast because the bay sits on a tectonic plate that is being pulled down as the sea level rises. Laird told the Outpost that over the past 100 years or so the waters around the bay have risen around 12 to 18 inches.
About 75 percent of the shoreline around the bay is artificially made, with a majority of it being earthen dikes from the late 1800s. Laird said there are 41 miles of dikes and that they are nearing a critical moment.
