Yacht Full of Climate Scientists Plots Giant Sea Gate to Save Manhattan

Aboard the Manhattan II, a 100-foot yacht with glass walls and mahogany panelling, a group of scientists, engineers, politicians, and a ship captain spent a recent morning contemplating the deaths of their fellow New Yorkers at the hands of Hurricane Ida’s flood waters. The day trip marked the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, and everyone on board had been brought together by a singular mission. They think a series of gates — vast steel doors arranged around the city that can be shut if disaster looms — are the key to protecting the region from disastrous storm damage caused by climate change.

“Don’t underestimate the destruction, dislocation, and human misery that climate change and rising seas will bring in the decades ahead,” said Malcolm Bowman, a professor of oceanography at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He serves as chair of New York New Jersey Storm Surge Working Group, the organization that hosted the boat ride. The group includes engineers, architects, scientists, and city planners in the region.