Watermarks is a neat art installation that ran in Bristol last week, consisting of a series of projections onto public buildings. Each one shows the tide mark for future sea level rises, across a variety of different scenarios.
Their website describes the idea:
“Flood level marks will be projected on to the sides of buildings, showing how high water levels could potentially rise as the sea inundates the central, low lying areas of Bristol. By displaying these levels in real space, the project aims to help us to imagine the depth and extent of this potential future flooding – allowing us to measure them against ourselves in familiar environments.”
Sea levels are currently rising, through thermal expansion and ice melt. The increase is a matter of milimetres every year, but even this is enough to swamp low-lying islands, and climate change feedback mechanisms could accelerate the rise in coming years.