Robert Kopp discusses New Jersey sea level rise on Tidal Flooding Talk

RUTGERS CLIMATE AND ENERGY INSTITUTE – RCEI affiliate and Distinguished Professor Robert Kopp (Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University) recently appeared on Tidal Flooding Talk, the only weekly show in America dedicated to coastal flooding and resiliency, presented by the New Jersey Coastal Coalition.

Kopp joined hosts meteorologists Joe Martucci (SEBS 2013) and Dan Skelton to discuss the 2025 New Jersey Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) report, “New Jersey’s Rising Seas and Changing Coastal Storms” — the third such assessment organized by the New Jersey Climate Resource Center at Rutgers, following previous editions in 2016 and 2019.

Among the key findings Kopp highlighted: sea level rise is accelerating in New Jersey, with approximately half a foot of rise recorded over the past 30 years. Perhaps most striking is the projected increase in tidal flood days — from an average of about 12 per year today to roughly 70 per year by 2050, based on a median projection of 1.3 feet of additional sea level rise relative to the start of the century.

Kopp also discussed the regional factors driving sea level rise in New Jersey, including long-term geological subsidence, ocean thermal expansion, land ice melt, and local groundwater withdrawal — each contributing roughly a quarter of the observed rise. He noted that New Jersey’s coastal wetlands are nearing the maximum rate of sea level rise they can keep pace with, and that saltwater intrusion and groundwater-driven flooding represent growing risks for the region.

The STAP report directly informs state policy, including New Jersey’s REAL Rules (Resilient Environments and Landscapes), which use sea level rise projections to guide coastal permitting and development requirements.

Kopp also serves as director of the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (coastalhub.org), a consortium of 13 universities focused on coastal adaptation science and practice.