File   : ReadMe.Txt
Subject: "Pictures" of Rising Sea Levels
Author : Copyright (c) 1995 by John Cawley III
Date   : 95.06.13
________________________________________________________________________

Summary:

  There is a significant possiblity that sea levels may rise in the next
  several decades due to global warming (either natural or artificial).
  This may be of great concern to our children and grandchildren, as
  well as to many municipalities that lie near sea level. Included in
  this package are seven GIF files that illustrate the effects of
  various amounts of rising, as well as Robert Grumbine's excellent FAQ
  on the topic.

Legalese:

  I retain all copyrights to the graphics. You are welcome to use them
  yourself or in classrooms free of charge. You may include them in
  documents of your own as long as you indicate their source. Just do
  not alter them or claim them as your own.

  Robert Grumbine's FAQ is copyrighted by him, with all rights reserved.

Description:

  Robert Grumbine's FAQ goes into detail about the possiblities and
  mechanisms of sea level rise.

  Five GIFs show the effects of sea level rise on the US Coast:

    Sea000.Gif : the current US coastline
    Sea050.Gif : the US coastline if sea level were to rise  50 feet
    Sea100.Gif : the US coastline if sea level were to rise 100 feet
    Sea150.Gif : the US coastline if sea level were to rise 150 feet
    Sea200.Gif : the US coastline if sea level were to rise 200 feet
    Sea250.Gif : the US coastline if sea level were to rise 250 feet

  The blue spheres in each map indicate major cities. Use these to 
  locate positions as well as to see which ones "sink."

    Albany, GA
    Atlanta
    Boston
    Chicago
    Dallas
    Denver
    Flagstaff
    Los Angeles
    Miami
    New York
    Phoenix
    San Francisco
    Seattle
    Washington, DC

  Note in particular how quickly Florida is lost to the sea. A friend 
  of mine described to me once his fishing trip in the gulf -- he 
  walked out into the water nearly a mile, and the water had not risen 
  past his chest.

  The sixth GIF is a slice through the United States, from California 
  to Virginia, at the latitude of Washington, DC (indicated by the blue 
  sphere). It illustrates the general height along an east-west path. 
  (And, after viewing it, I realized for the first time the real
  extent of the Rockies' dwarfing of the Appalachians).

Sources:
  The GIFs were created as follows. First, 3DGeography was used to 
  produce Polyray files for each of the regions. (This program uses an 
  elevation database to produce Polyray files for specified regions; it 
  is shareware and should be released by July or August 1995, as soon 
  as the documentation is complete.) The files were then processed by 
  Alexander Enzmann's Polyray, an excellent ray-tracing program.

  Robert's FAQ was downloaded from the internet. 

