scholarly journals Resilience of Infrastructure Systems to Sea-Level Rise in Coastal Areas: Impacts, Adaptation Measures, and Implementation Challenges

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Azevedo de Almeida ◽  
Ali Mostafavi
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1559-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Krien ◽  
Bernard Dudon ◽  
Jean Roger ◽  
Gael Arnaud ◽  
Narcisse Zahibo

Abstract. In the Lesser Antilles, coastal inundations from hurricane-induced storm surges pose a great threat to lives, properties and ecosystems. Assessing current and future storm surge hazards with sufficient spatial resolution is of primary interest to help coastal planners and decision makers develop mitigation and adaptation measures. Here, we use wave–current numerical models and statistical methods to investigate worst case scenarios and 100-year surge levels for the case study of Martinique under present climate or considering a potential sea level rise. Results confirm that the wave setup plays a major role in the Lesser Antilles, where the narrow island shelf impedes the piling-up of large amounts of wind-driven water on the shoreline during extreme events. The radiation stress gradients thus contribute significantly to the total surge – up to 100 % in some cases. The nonlinear interactions of sea level rise (SLR) with bathymetry and topography are generally found to be relatively small in Martinique but can reach several tens of centimeters in low-lying areas where the inundation extent is strongly enhanced compared to present conditions. These findings further emphasize the importance of waves for developing operational storm surge warning systems in the Lesser Antilles and encourage caution when using static methods to assess the impact of sea level rise on storm surge hazard.


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. 


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Krien ◽  
Bernard Dudon ◽  
Jean Roger ◽  
Gaël Arnaud ◽  
Narcisse Zahibo

Abstract. In the Lesser Antilles, coastal inundations from hurricane-induced storm surges cause great threats to lives, properties, and ecosystems. Assessing current and future storm surge hazard with sufficient spatial resolution is of primary interest to help coastal planners and decision makers develop mitigation and adaptation measures. Here, we use wave-current numerical models and statistical methods to investigate worst case scenarios and 100-year surge levels for the case study of Martinique, under present climate or considering a potential sea-level rise. Results confirm that the wave setup plays a major role in Lesser Antilles, where the narrow island shelf impedes the piling-up of large amounts of wind-driven water on the shoreline during extreme events. The radiation stress gradients thus contribute significantly to the total surge, up to 100 % in some cases. The non-linear interactions of sea level rise with bathymetry and topography are generally found to be relatively small in Martinique, but can reach several tens of centimeters in low-lying areas where the inundation extent is strongly enhanced compared to present conditions. These findings further emphasize the importance of waves for developing operational storm surge warning systems in the Lesser Antilles, and encourage caution when using static methods to assess the impact of sea level rise on storm surge hazard.


2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (sp1) ◽  
pp. 1067-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Crapoulet ◽  
Arnaud Héquette ◽  
Franck Levoy ◽  
Patrice Bretel

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.


Ocean Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Rasquin ◽  
Rita Seiffert ◽  
Benno Wachler ◽  
Norbert Winkel

Abstract. Due to climate change an accelerated mean sea level rise is expected. One key question for the development of adaptation measures is how mean sea level rise affects tidal dynamics in shelf seas such as the North Sea. Owing to its low-lying coastal areas, the German Bight (located in the southeast of the North Sea) will be especially affected. Numerical hydrodynamic models help to understand how mean sea level rise changes tidal dynamics. Models cannot adequately represent all processes in overall detail. One limiting factor is the resolution of the model grid. In this study we investigate which role the representation of the coastal bathymetry plays when analysing the response of tidal dynamics to mean sea level rise. Using a shelf model including the whole North Sea and a high-resolution hydrodynamic model of the German Bight we investigate the changes in M2 amplitude due to a mean sea level rise of 0.8 and 10 m. The shelf model and the German Bight Model react in different ways. In the simulations with a mean sea level rise of 0.8 m the M2 amplitude in the shelf model generally increases in the region of the German Bight. In contrast, the M2 amplitude in the German Bight Model increases only in some coastal areas and decreases in the northern part of the German Bight. In the simulations with a mean sea level rise of 10 m the M2 amplitude increases in both models with largely similar spatial patterns. In two case studies we adjust the German Bight Model in order to more closely resemble the shelf model. We find that a different resolution of the bathymetry results in different energy dissipation changes in response to mean sea level rise. Our results show that the resolution of the bathymetry especially in flat intertidal areas plays a crucial role for modelling the impact of mean sea level rise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Catalao ◽  
Durairaju Raju ◽  
Giovanni Nico

Global mean sea level rise associated with global warming has a major impact on coastal areas and represents one of the significant natural hazards. The Asia-Pacific region, which has the highest concentration of human population in the world, represents one of the larger areas on Earth being threatened by the rise of sea level. Recent studies indicate a global sea level of 3.2 mm/yr as measured from 20 years of satellite altimetry. The combined effect of sea level rise and local land subsidence, can be overwhelming for coastal areas. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry technique is used to process a time series of TerraSAR-X images and estimate the land subsidence in the urban area of Singapore. Interferometric SAR (InSAR) measurements are merged to the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 sea-level rise scenarios to identify projected inundated areas and provide a map of flood vulnerability. Subsiding rates larger than 5 mm/year are found near the shore on the low flat land, associated to areas recently reclaimed or built. The projected flooded map of Singapore are provided for different sea-level rise scenarios. In this study, we show that local land subsidence can increase the flood vulnerability caused by sea level rise by 2100 projections. This can represent an increase of 25% in the flood area in the central area of Singapore for the RCP4.5 scenario.


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.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bente Vollstedt ◽  
Jana Koerth ◽  
Athanasios Vafeidis

<p>The actual use of climate services depends on the identification of real user needs and their integration into the service. Thus, for the production of climate services user involvement is a vital component. Descriptions of practical approaches in the scientific literature are rare but necessary in order to gain better user insights and to improve the user-provider interface. In the frame of the ERA4CS project EVOKED, we apply the user-centered Living Lab approach to develop climate services with the objective to support the coastal adaptation process in Flensburg, a city vulnerable to coastal flooding due to sea-level rise. The aim is to transform climate information into valuable and useable climate services for users. In the beginning of the project we identified the climate service user needs of the community. Thereafter, we co-produced a web-based story map in collaboration with the users, as an information tool for the general public. The story map includes information on sea-level rise and its potential impacts and displays information on relevant adaptations options. For the production process of the story map we started with a compilation phase by drafting a first version of the story map from the providers’ perspective, followed by a demonstration and online feedback phase with user involvement. Based on the received feedback, we adjusted the story map to meet user needs. Results showed the need for clearer visualization of e.g. exposed locations in the city and more detailed information on adaptation measures. Preliminary findings indicate that the active provider-user interaction for the climate service may lead to long-term adaptation action.</p>


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