N.Y. Sea to the Islands of Seattle: Maps show what major U.S. cities would look like if world's glaciers melted

  • Seattle-based Jeffrey Linn created maps showing what cities look like submerged in hundreds of feet of water
  • U.S. Geological Survey estimates that if all of the world's glaciers melted, sea level would rise by more than 260 feet
  • Some coastal cities have already been affected by global climate change and warming ocean waters 
  • But the extreme sea-level rise is not predicted to happen for at least 1,000 years
  • Linn gave names to islands, inlets and landmarks that cities would become when flooded with water
  • The place names often have humorous ties to what they used to be, such as Ex-LAX and Yankee Aquarium 
  • He's created maps for U.S., Canadian and UK cities and hopes to make a world atlas 

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:39 EST, 8 February 2015 | Updated: 06:39 EST, 9 February 2015

The N.Y. Sea, Vancouver Archipelago and London Bay don't exist - but they could be place names in future atlases as glaciers continue to melt. 

A Seattle-based urban planner has created maps of cities around the world showing the alarming results of what the world would look like submerged in water.

Though the doomsday scenario in which all of the world's glaciers melt could be thousands of years in the future, it would make many loved cities - including Portland, New York and Los Angeles - unrecognizable.

Coastal cities around the world have been affected by global climate change, melting polar ice and warming ocean waters that have had concerning results on rising sea levels.

More worrying, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that if all of the world's glaciers melted, sea level would rise by more than 260 feet.

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Seattle-based Jeffrey Linn, who has a background in geography and urban planning, created a series of maps of major U.S. and Canadian cities based on what the places would look like if all of the glaciers in the world were to melt

Seattle-based Jeffrey Linn, who has a background in geography and urban planning, created a series of maps of major U.S. and Canadian cities based on what the places would look like if all of the glaciers in the world were to melt

Linn uses open-source data to create his maps and puts his information together using a mapping program called QGIS. He then puts everything into Adobe Illustrator. The base cartography for the projects only takes him a few hours 

Linn uses open-source data to create his maps and puts his information together using a mapping program called QGIS. He then puts everything into Adobe Illustrator. The base cartography for the projects only takes him a few hours 

Linn said the most fun - and most time-consuming - part of the project is the minute detail he puts into labeling the maps with humorous and relevant place names, including Ex-LAX and Hollywood Landing in Los Angeles (pictured)

Linn said the most fun - and most time-consuming - part of the project is the minute detail he puts into labeling the maps with humorous and relevant place names, including Ex-LAX and Hollywood Landing in Los Angeles (pictured)

Depending on the city, Linn decides how much to rise the sea level. When creating his first underwater map, he put Seattle under 240 feet of water

Depending on the city, Linn decides how much to rise the sea level. When creating his first underwater map, he put Seattle under 240 feet of water

Linn has created maps for eight U.S. cities thus far and is working on several places in the UK, including London and Leeds. No names have been added to his UK maps, yet, but his London map shows what the city would look like under 130 feet of water - or if half the world's glaciers melted

Linn has created maps for eight U.S. cities thus far and is working on several places in the UK, including London and Leeds. No names have been added to his UK maps, yet, but his London map shows what the city would look like under 130 feet of water - or if half the world's glaciers melted

Jeffrey Linn, who has a background in geography and urban planning, has created a series of maps of major U.S. and Canadian cities submerged in water in hopes of giving people a new look into global warming.

Though the extreme sea-level rise isn't expected in the near future, Linn has given names to landforms and bodies of water that could emerge if the flooding were to happen, according to Business Insider. 

Linn uses open-source data to create his maps and puts his information together using a mapping program called QGIS. He then puts everything into Adobe Illustrator. The base cartography for the projects only takes him a few hours. 

Depending on the city, Linn decides how much to rise the sea level. Some cities are completely submerged with a 260-foot sea-level rise, but to make maps more interesting he lowers the amount of water.

In his first sea-level rise map, he put Seattle under 240 feet of water. But when doing New York, he only did a 100ft sea-level rise.

Most cities become unique sets of small islands, inlets and landforms. Landmarks including Seattle's Space Needle and the Statue of Liberty in New York are washed away as the water level gets higher.

Linn details the maps down to specific roads in some cities. The names he gives bays, islands and bodies of water often give humorous insight into cities and the places Linn has created, though he said this is what takes the most time.

English Bay turns into Vancouver Bay as water spills over the streets and landmarks of the city. All that is left is a series of islands Linn has named Vancouver Archipelago

English Bay turns into Vancouver Bay as water spills over the streets and landmarks of the city. All that is left is a series of islands Linn has named Vancouver Archipelago

Linn hopes that after seeing cities, including Vancouver (pictured) with an extreme amount of sea-level rise, his maps capture people's attention about global warming in a new way

Linn hopes that after seeing cities, including Vancouver (pictured) with an extreme amount of sea-level rise, his maps capture people's attention about global warming in a new way

Most cities become unique sets of small islands, inlets and landforms. Landmarks like Seattle's Space Needle and the Statue of Liberty in New York are washed away as the water level gets higher

Most cities become unique sets of small islands, inlets and landforms. Landmarks like Seattle's Space Needle and the Statue of Liberty in New York are washed away as the water level gets higher

Like Los Angeles, much of San Diego (pictured) is expected to be almost fully taken over by water if the world's glaciers melt. The University of San Diego and Sea World both are submerged in Linn's map

Like Los Angeles, much of San Diego (pictured) is expected to be almost fully taken over by water if the world's glaciers melt. The University of San Diego and Sea World both are submerged in Linn's map

In his map of New York, for example, the Upper West and East Sides, which have been completely submerged in water, have been renamed the Upper West and East Tides.

He has created maps for more inland areas, as well, including Palm Springs, California, which he puts under 260 feet of water. The map shows Coachella Valley - where an annual two-weekend-long music festival is held in the spring - entirely underwater.

Linn hopes that after seeing cities with an extreme amount of sea-level rise, his maps capture people's attention about global warming in a new way.

His interest in the maps came after reading Always Coming Home, by Ursula Le Guin, he told Business Insider. 

'The novel is sort of a future anthropology of California's Napa Valley, and in it she looks into the future and sees California Central Valley flooded by sea-level rise. Since then, I would often think about what the world around us would look like once all the ice caps melted,' he said.

Linn has created maps for eight U.S. cities thus far and is working on several places in the UK, including London and Leeds. 

No names have been added to his UK maps, yet, but his London map shows what the city would look like under 130 feet of water - or if half the world's glaciers melted. Linn eventually hopes to put together a world atlas. 

The result of Earth's icecaps melting would be 'catastrophic to human civilisation and Earth's biosphere', according to Martin Vargic, an amateur graphic designer from Slovakia. 

More than 75 per cent of the world’s population lives below 300ft above the sea level, including the vast majority of all large urban areas.

Linn has created maps for more inland areas, as well, including Palm Springs, California, which he puts under 260 feet of water

Linn has created maps for more inland areas, as well, including Palm Springs, California, which he puts under 260 feet of water

The map of Palm Springs shows Indio and Coachella Valley - where an annual two-weekend-long music festival is held in the spring - entirely underwater

The map of Palm Springs shows Indio and Coachella Valley - where an annual two-weekend-long music festival is held in the spring - entirely underwater

Portland morphs into a series of islands, with the area's mountainous and high-elevation areas towering above the places flooded with water

Portland morphs into a series of islands, with the area's mountainous and high-elevation areas towering above the places flooded with water

As the warming gradually progresses, scientists predict that we will experience more and more extreme weather events. Hurricanes, typhoons and massive floods will occur more frequently and on a much more devastating scale.

The world’s deserts will expand, engulfing areas as large as the entire continent of Australia, including Southern Europe, the Caribbean and entire southeast of Africa.

‘Although this scenario is extremely unlikely to happen within our lifetimes, the truth is, that climate is going to change sharply,’ claims Mr Vargic.

‘Unless we limit our CO2 emissions to bare minimum, Earth will be more than 4°C warmer in the year 2100 as it is now. 

‘Such a rise in temperature would be destructive to environment and human civilisation as well.’

Scientists believe it could take around 5,000 years for temperatures to rise significantly enough to melt all the ice on the planet, but claim the planet is already seeing the beginnings of this.

Over the past century, reports suggest the Earth's temperature has increased by around half a degree Celsius and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this has already caused sea levels to rise by around 7 inches (18cm).

The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica but it is also found on exposed areas, on mountain tops and in other regions.

The East Antarctica ice sheet, for example, is so large it contains around 80 per cent of all the ice on the planet and its size has protected it previously during warmer periods in Earth’s history. 

When Linn first submerged Montreal, he used 260 feet of water, but soon realized the map would be more interesting if there was less water. When he only rose the sea level by 130 feet, he formed Montreal Archipelago

When Linn first submerged Montreal, he used 260 feet of water, but soon realized the map would be more interesting if there was less water. When he only rose the sea level by 130 feet, he formed Montreal Archipelago


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