Predictions for sea level rise over the next century vary from a few feet to several meters. Even a few feet of sea level rise is too much for fragile cliffs and estuaries. Writing for the Voice of San Diego, Rob Davis reports, "Continuing rises in ocean levels could have profound implications in San Diego, where millions have been invested in sand-replenishment projects and where thousands live along the coast.
'Very frankly, I don't think anything can be done about it, except to build seawalls,' said Tim Barnett, a Scripps marine physicist. 'But then what happens to your beaches?'
Barnett said each foot of future rise would penetrate inland by about 100 feet. While that is a more profound problem in low-lying places like south Florida and coastal Louisiana, it would also have significant impacts in coastal San Diego."