“Wicked High Tides” are here, and there's no stopping them

Rebecca Shoer standing in the overflow of water along Long Wharf in Boston measuring it with a ruler. Photograph by Amyah Bishop

Despite the cold, rainy day, Rebecca Shoer, the senior program manager for education and engagement at Stone Living Lab, came to Long Wharf accompanied by other Lab staff from Stone Living lab. 

She wore tan rain boots emblazoned with hearts that nearly reached her knees and a bright orange raincoat. Ruler in hand, she was ready to inform the public about the rising sea levels that are affecting Boston. 

Furthermore, Shoer is informing the community how to prepare for these high tides that will inevitably become a much more common occurrence.

A small audience gathered at Long Wharf, located on the Boston Harbor, to witness high tide and learn more about it on Oct 29, 2023 at Stone Living Lab’s “Wicked High Tides Are Coming To Boston!” event. It took place from 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. as High Tide peaked at 12:00 p.m. and is measured throughout. The rate at which these tides come in, and leave however are rather quick.  

At approximately 12:00 p.m., Shoer measured the high tide, which stood about 10 inches tall from the ground. Measuring again at around 12:09 p.m. it was down to around 9 inches. She explained how at various points in the past, the tide had gone over her rain boots, causing her feet to get wet.

These high tides, known as Perigean tides, that are causing the overflow of Long Wharf happen about six times a year. The tides are the result of the moon getting closer in orbit causing an extra strong gravitational pull. 

On average, Boston would experience a 8 or 9 foot high tide. This one was approximately 11 and a half feet tall. While Perigean tides are a natural occurrence, they are two to four feet higher than normal. Shoer explains that since the Industrial Revolution, which was well over a century ago, Boston has seen a total of 20 inches of sea level rise, and can expect an additional 12-inch increase by the year 2030. 

When asked for a possible solution to prevent these events from an audience member, Shoer explained the hard truth that most people do not want to hear. 

“(Rising) sea levels will occur even if we stopped all carbon emissions,” said Shoer. “There is nothing we can do to stop it, but we can slow it down.” 

Though we cannot stop these high tides, Shoer explained that becoming involved in local government decisions on climate change to help slow these effects, and preparing the community through education and city-wide alerts are ways to get involved.

There is room for this discussion in just about every place of work, Shoer explained. 

This usually six times-a-year event will at some point become a daily event, happening even twice a day. Ensuring that the public knows how to react to these high tides is important, Shoer explains. Parts of Boston, especially the more historic areas such as around the State House and the North end, are already affected by these higher-than-normal high tides as they are actively sinking.

Boston is about 60% to 70%  made up of fill. During the 1700’s a lot of what Boston is today used to be water, but was filled in with dirt, and trash. Different neighborhoods like North end are actively sinking, and flooding as these areas erode much quicker as they are less stable. 

In the next three decades, Bostonians will likely have to start worrying about where to move. Ensuring that residents are able to relocate to higher land is a concern for people who are aware of these rising sea levels. Making sure that they will still be successful in their work, and home life is also a concern. 

However, there have been somewhat positive developments with this. There are more nesting birds due to an increase in their food supply: More muscles, shellfish, and mollusks have been seen due to the warmer ocean temperatures and rising sea levels. 

Most of all, these changes have allowed people to become more connected to the harbor and educated on this event.

“It's a way to experience what our lived reality is going to be like,” said Shoer.