April 15, 2021 Sea level rise is killing trees along the U.S. east coast, creating ‘ghost forests’ that are visible from space. Ghost forest panorama in coastal North Carolina. Image via Emily Ury/ The Conversation Trekking out to my research sites near North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, I slog through knee-deep water on a section of trail that is completely submerged. Permanent flooding has become commonplace on this low-lying peninsula, nestled behind North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The trees growing in the water are small and stunted. Many are dead. Throughout coastal North Carolina, evidence of forest die-off is everywhere. Nearly every roadside ditch I pass while driving around the region is lined with dead or dying trees.