Friends of Rose Creek King Tides Project

Friends of Rose Creek, a key component organization of the ReWild Mission Bay coalition, will host a King Tides Project at the Rose Creek Salt Marsh and Estuary the morning of Saturday, Dec. 4th, from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Hosted by Friends of Rose Creek executive director Dr. Karin Zirk, Tommy will join Assemblymember Chris Ward to make remarks at the Mike Gotch Bridge over Rose Creek in Pacific Beach at 7:30 a.m.

While there, attendees will see the effects of the annual King Tides on the mouth of Rose Creek and how the water quality and hydrology of the creek and Mission Bay are impacted by these extreme tides. The forecast calls for a seven foot, seven inch high tide, which according to Dr. Zirk is considered to be very high.

As Tommy has often said, the King Tides of today will become the daily high tides of the future, and these biannual high and low tide extremes are instructive in illustrating the challenges facing coastal cities and communities like San Diego as we considerer a managed retreat from the sea in the face of rising sea levels – forecasted to reach an average of eight to 10 feet from current levels by the end of the century.

According to the San Diego Reader, the event offers an opportunity to “document the King Tides in the Rose Creek Salt Marsh and Estuary adjacent to Mission Bay High and Barnard Elementary Schools,” and that you can “bring your app-enabled device and get set up to be a community scientist helping to project what sea level rise in our community will look like.”

Banner photo by West Kennerly.