scholarly journals Effective inundation of continental United States communities with 21st century sea level rise

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina A. Dahl ◽  
Erika Spanger-Siegfried ◽  
Astrid Caldas ◽  
Shana Udvardy

Recurrent, tidally driven coastal flooding is one of the most visible signs of sea level rise. Recent studies have shown that such flooding will become more frequent and extensive as sea level continues to rise, potentially altering the landscape and livability of coastal communities decades before sea level rise causes coastal land to be permanently inundated. In this study, we identify US communities that will face effective inundation—defined as having 10% or more of livable land area flooded at least 26 times per year—with three localized sea level rise scenarios based on projections for the 3rd US National Climate Assessment. We present these results in a new, online interactive tool that allows users to explore when and how effective inundation will impact their communities. In addition, we identify communities facing effective inundation within the next 30 years that contain areas of high socioeconomic vulnerability today using a previously published vulnerability index. With the Intermediate-High and Highest sea level rise scenarios, 489 and 668 communities, respectively, would face effective inundation by the year 2100. With these two scenarios, more than half of communities facing effective inundation by 2045 contain areas of current high socioeconomic vulnerability. These results highlight the timeframes that US coastal communities have to respond to disruptive future inundation. The results also underscore the importance of limiting future warming and sea level rise: under the Intermediate-Low scenario, used as a proxy for sea level rise under the Paris Climate Agreement, 199 fewer communities would be effectively inundated by 2100.

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1142
Author(s):  
Juliano Calil ◽  
Geraldine Fauville ◽  
Anna Carolina Muller Queiroz ◽  
Kelly L. Leo ◽  
Alyssa G. Newton Mann ◽  
...  

As coastal communities around the globe contend with the impacts of climate change including coastal hazards such as sea level rise and more frequent coastal storms, educating stakeholders and the general public has become essential in order to adapt to and mitigate these risks. Communicating SLR and other coastal risks is not a simple task. First, SLR is a phenomenon that is abstract as it is physically distant from many people; second, the rise of the sea is a slow and temporally distant process which makes this issue psychologically distant from our everyday life. Virtual reality (VR) simulations may offer a way to overcome some of these challenges, enabling users to learn key principles related to climate change and coastal risks in an immersive, interactive, and safe learning environment. This article first presents the literature on environmental issues communication and engagement; second, it introduces VR technology evolution and expands the discussion on VR application for environmental literacy. We then provide an account of how three coastal communities have used VR experiences developed by multidisciplinary teams—including residents—to support communication and community outreach focused on SLR and discuss their implications.


2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 551-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda B. Lin ◽  
Yong Bing Khoo ◽  
Matthew Inman ◽  
Chi-Hsiang Wang ◽  
Sorada Tapsuwan ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Michele Kekeh ◽  
Muge Akpinar-Elci ◽  
Michael J. Allen

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 1721
Author(s):  
A. Mavromatidi ◽  
E. Karymbalis

Tourism development in Greece has led to increasing pressure on coastal areas, which makes the study of sensitive coastal areas essential, in order to find appropriate solutions for their shielding. The aim of this study is an estimation of the effects of an anticipated sea level rise for the touristically developed part of Pieria Prefecture, which includes the settlements Paralia, Skala of Katerini, Olympic Beach, Korinos Beach and extends north to the area of the Kitrous saltworks and south to the mouth of Mavroneri river. Therefore the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) is applied, in an attempt to determine the susceptible parts to the potential sea level rise. CVI depends on the following parameters: (a) coastal geomorphology, (b) coastal slope, (c) shoreline erosion/accretion rate, (d) relative sea-level rise fluctuations, (e) mean tidal range and (f) mean significant wave height. The classification of the coast, which is of particular socio-economic significance since it hosts urbanized areas, into five CVI classes (from very low vulnerability to very high vulnerability), showed that 43.6% of the entire coastline is of very high vulnerability. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill J. Ainee ◽  
A.M. Anwar ◽  
S. Omar K

Climate change has brought about many threats to the ecosystem by inducing natural hazards, particularly sea level rise. Coastal areas then are subjected to many adverse effects of sea level rise, hence posing a risk to the safety of the coastal population, resources and assets. As part of the mitigation and adaptation measures against these effects, the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) was implemented by many coastal regions. The CVI is an index-based tool to map the risks related to coastal changes. In Malaysia, the practice of CVI is still in its initial stages. Whereby, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Malaysia had earlier carried out two pilot projects on CVI. The first is located at Tanjung Piai and the second at the west coast of Pulau Langkawi. This paper reviews the definition and concept of CVI. An alternative implementation approach of CVI in Malaysia is also discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony George Puthucherril

Climate change and sea level rise are realities that are upon us and which will profoundly impact the lives and basic rights of millions of coastal residents all over the world. As the law stands both at the international and at certain national levels, the basic human rights of the climate displaced are not adequately protected. This paper identifies two possible displacement scenarios, based on the continued availability/non-availability of land in the face of sea level rise and other climate change impacts; namely, the sinking Small Island Developing States phenomeon, where land disappears and there is no surplus land to support habitation, and all other cases, where the coastal land is battered severely but it can be re-utilized through appropriate adaptation measures or even if coastal frontage land disappears there is still land available inland. On this basis, the paper proposes three possible solutions: (1) bilateral or regional treaties to facilitate resettlement of the inhabitants of sinking Small Island Developing States, (2) appropriate coastal climate change adaptation implemented via integrated coastal zone management and (3) creation of new arrangements under the international climate change regime to provide financial assistance and technological support to respond to both situations. Even though the primary focus of this paper is on coastal communities in South Asia, the lessons that it offers are relevant to other coastal contexts as well.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document