California’s coastal development: Sea-level rise and extreme events — where do we go from here?

Shore & Beach ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Griggs ◽  
Kiki Patsch
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Trigger Points ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Storm Wave ◽  
Coastal Land Use ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Coastal Land

As sea level continues to rise at an accelerated rate, California’s intensive coastal development and infrastructure is coming under an increasing threat. Whether lowelevation shoreline areas that are subject to flooding at extreme tides and times of storm wave run-up, or construction on eroding bluffs or cliffs, the risks will continue to increase from extreme events but, over the longer term, from continuing sea-level rise. Future sea-level rise values under different greenhouse gas scenarios have recently been projected and adopted by the state to be used in coastal land use planning and decision making. While beach nourishment can provide very short-term protection, and seawalls and revetments can provide somewhat longer-term protection, they both come with significant costs and also environmental impacts. The era of routine armor emplacement is coming to an end in California, and whether designated as relocation or managed retreat, now is the time to make the difficult decisions on how this will be accomplished and what the trigger points will be to initiate the response.

Effects of drought and subtidal sea-level variability on salt intrusion in a coastal karst aquifer

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irany Vera ◽  
Ismael Mariño-Tapia ◽  
Cecilia Enriquez
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Karst Aquifer ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Salt Intrusion ◽  
Sea Level Variability ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Coastal Land Use ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
Coastal Land

In many coastal regions, groundwater is the main water source for humans. However, because of population growth and sea-level rise, many coastal aquifers increasingly suffer from salt intrusion, especially in karstic areas where the high permeability and porosity of the rock favours salt penetration. We collected field data from a Mexican karst system to show that sea-level variability at low frequencies (subtidal) may induce salt penetration further inland and generate larger oscillations than those observed at tidal frequencies. Measurements of conductivity and pressure from inland wells (5 and 10 km) and from substantial (~1 m3 s–1) submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) at ~2-m depth entering a shallow ocean were analysed. We found that sea and piezometric levels co-oscillated at subtidal frequencies, with a correlation of 0.6 and a differential lag. Conductivity of the SGD resembled that of the aquifer. Intense droughts driven by the 2009 ‘El Niño’ event markedly increased the conductivity of the aquifer and its discharge. Our findings indicated that coastal land use and the consequences of climate change (i.e. sea-level rise and the alteration of rain patterns) on the Yucatan Penisula threaten water availability.

scholarly journals Coastal land use planning in Ben Tre, Vietnam: constraints and recommendations

Heliyon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e01487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Phong Nguyen ◽  
Kevin E. Parnell
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Coastal Land Use ◽  
Coastal Land

Coastal Land Use Planning: A Case Study of Kordonboyu (Çanakkale)

2006 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 951-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Kelkit ◽  
Tutku Ak
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Coastal Land Use ◽  
Coastal Land

Coastal flooding in the Balearic Islands during the 21st century caused by sea level rise and extreme events

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pau Luque Lozano ◽  
Lluís Gómez-Pujol ◽  
Marta Marcos ◽  
Alejandro Orfila
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Coastal Flooding ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
Mean Sea Level

<p>Sea-level rise induces a permanent loss of land with widespread ecological and economic impacts, most evident in urban and densely populated areas. The eventual coastline retreat combined with the action of waves and storm surges will end in more severe damages over coastal areas. These effects are expected to be particularly significant over islands, where coastal zones represent a relatively larger area vulnerable to marine hazards.</p><p>Managing coastal flood risk at regional scales requires a prioritization of resources and socioeconomic activities along the coast. Stakeholders, such as regional authorities, coastal managers and private companies, need tools that help to address the evaluation of coastal risks and criteria to support decision-makers to clarify priorities and critical sites. For this reason, the regional Government of the Balearic Islands (Spain) in association with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment has launched the Plan for Climate Change Coastal Adaptation. This framework integrates two levels of analysis. The first one relates with the identification of critical areas affected by coastal flooding and erosion under mean sea-level rise scenarios and the quantification of the extent of flooding, including marine extreme events. The second level assesses the impacts on infrastructures and assets from a socioeconomic perspective due to these hazards.</p><p>In this context, this paper quantifies the effects of sea-level rise and marine extreme events caused by storm surges and waves along the coasts of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean Sea) in terms of coastal flooding and potential erosion. Given the regional scale (~1500 km) of this study, the presented methodology adopts a compromise between accuracy, physical representativity and computational costs. We map the projected flooded coastal areas under two mean sea-level rise climate change scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. To do so, we apply a corrected bathtub algorithm. Additionally, we compute the impact of extreme storm surges and waves using two 35-year hindcasts consistently forced by mean sea level pressure and surface winds from ERA-Interim reanalysis. Waves have been further propagated towards the nearshore to compute wave setup with higher accuracy. The 100-year return levels of joint storm surges and waves are used to map the spatial extent of flooding in more than 200 sandy beaches around the Balearic Islands by mid and late 21st century, using the hydrodynamical LISFLOOD-FP model and a high resolution (2 m) Digital Elevation Model.</p>

Geochemistry of salt marsh sediments deposited during simulated sea-level rise and consequences for recent and Holocene coastal development of NW Germany

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Kolditz ◽  
Olaf Dellwig ◽  
Jan Barkowski ◽  
Thomas H. Badewien ◽  
Holger Freund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Nw Germany ◽  
Marsh Sediments ◽  
Salt Marsh Sediments

scholarly journals Assessment of island beach erosion due to sea level rise: the case of the Aegean archipelago (Eastern Mediterranean)

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isavela N. Monioudi ◽  
Adonis F. Velegrakis ◽  
Antonis E. Chatzipavlis ◽  
Anastasios Rigos ◽  
Theophanis Karambas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Beach Erosion ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Economic Resource

Abstract. The present contribution constitutes the first comprehensive attempt to (a) record the spatial characteristics of the beaches of the Aegean archipelago (Greece), a critical resource for both the local and national economy, and (b) provide a rapid assessment of the impacts of the long-term and episodic sea level rise (SLR) under different scenarios. Spatial information and other attributes (e.g., presence of coastal protection works and backshore development) of the beaches of the 58 largest islands of the archipelago were obtained on the basis of remote-sensed images available on the web. Ranges of SLR-induced beach retreats under different morphological, sedimentological and hydrodynamic forcing, and SLR scenarios were estimated using suitable ensembles of cross-shore (1-D) morphodynamic models. These ranges, combined with empirically derived estimations of wave run-up induced flooding, were then compared with the recorded maximum beach widths to provide ranges of retreat/erosion and flooding at the archipelago scale. The spatial information shows that the Aegean pocket beaches may be particularly vulnerable to mean sea level rise (MSLR) and episodic SLRs due to (i) their narrow widths (about 59 % of the beaches have maximum widths < 20 m), (ii) their limited terrestrial sediment supply, (iii) the substantial coastal development and (iv) the limited existing coastal protection. Modeling results indeed project severe impacts under mean and episodic SLRs, which by 2100 could be devastating. For example, under MSLR of 0.5 m – representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) – a storm-induced sea level rise of 0.6 m is projected to result in a complete erosion of between 31 and 88 % of all beaches (29–87 % of beaches are currently fronting coastal infrastructure and assets), at least temporarily. Our results suggest a very considerable risk which will require significant effort, financial resources and policies/regulation in order to protect/maintain the critical economic resource of the Aegean archipelago.

scholarly journals A Roadmap for Policy-Relevant Sea-Level Rise Research in the United Arab Emirates

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Melville-Rea ◽  
Clare Eayrs ◽  
Nasser Anwahi ◽  
John A. Burt ◽  
Denise Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Deep Uncertainty ◽  
Climate Change Research

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a long-term policy horizon, the financial capital, and a vision for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. These characteristics uniquely situate it as a potential leader for sea-level rise research. Climate science is already growing, and at the center of the UAE's pivot toward climate research is a burgeoning concern for sea-level rise. Over 85% of the UAE's population and more than 90% of the nation's infrastructure is within a few meters of present-day sea-level. With its low-lying and shallow-sloping geography (about 35 cm per km), this high-value coastline, including the rapidly expanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Meanwhile, limited regional research and data scarcity create deep uncertainty for sea-level projections. We set out a potential roadmap for the UAE to capitalize on its strengths to create usable and relevant sea-level projections for the region. With a newly established Climate Change Research Network, the UAE government is beginning to draw together universities and research centers for “furthering effective data collection and management, and advancing policy-relevant research on climate impacts and adaptation1.” By consolidating ideas from the science community within the UAE, we identify promoters and barriers to data gathering, information sharing, science-policy communication, and funding access. Our paper proposes pathways forward for the UAE to integrate sea-level science with coastal development and form best practices that can be scaled across climate science and throughout the region.

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