Responding to the Threat of Sea Level Rise Proceedings of a Forum (2017) / Chapter Skim
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Responding to the Threat of Sea Level Rise
Responding to the Threat of Sea Level Rise
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In Jacksonville, Florida, sea level rose at an average rate of 2.08 millimeters per year during the 20th century, or about 20 centimeters -- equivalent to about 8 inches -- over those hundred years. This "is a significant change," said Nicholls, and "it is going to keep on going." He cited similar developments along the East Coast: in Norfolk, Virginia, sea level rose at an average of 4.6 millimeters per year, and on Grand Isle, Louisiana, approximately 9 millimeters per year, or about 90 centimeters -- 3 feet -- per century.
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In addition to deltas, small islands are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, explained Nicholls. The Maldives, for example, is the lowest country on earth.
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" PROJECTIONS OF FUTURE SEA LEVEL RISE Historical data suggest that sea level was relatively flat for several thousand years before the 19th century, when data from a variety of sources indicate that it began to rise. Global sea level rose about 17 centimeters during the 20th century, said Nicholls.
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Sea level rise can also cause wetland loss and change, saltwater intrusion into surface waters or groundwater, and higher water tables that impede drainage -- and these impacts can be interconnected. For example, changes in coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests and coral reefs can affect wave action, storm surges, and erosion.
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flooded very frequently." Some have argued that land values are going to fall as more people think about the consequences of sea level rise, making it easier to buy out those properties and move occupants to higher ground. Nicholls considers this "an interesting thesis," but especially with more valuable property, adaptation is the more likely prospect.
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However, adapting the overall system as sea level continues to rise will require improving all the flood control systems on the Thames even as the original structures are aging. One possible approach to future sea level rise is to make major investments to protect against events that might not happen or might happen more slowly than expected.
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But it could be provided if you did." As sea level continues to rise, the choices for protecting vulnerable areas become starker. For example, the amount of sea level rise that would require unavoidable choices between building massive and expensive new barriers or abandoning parts of London is about 3 meters, Nicholls said, which is above the levels projected for the 21st century.
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It is a process." Another important step would be to conduct major planning studies for all coastal cities and other threatened locations around the world. "If you ignore sea level rise, it will come back to bite you," Nicholls concluded on a cautious note.
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It also uses natural and nature-based features to attenuate the wave energy that reaches the shore and causes damage; these include engineered dunes and beaches, maritime forests and shrub communities, barrier islands, oyster and coral reefs, and vegetated features. One difficulty with these natural features, according to White, is that they often lack engineering reliability and performance information, making it hard to use them to achieve a reliable degree of risk reduction.
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The idea of being proactive has taken hold in the Corps, especially since Hurricane Katrina, said White. After Katrina, a series of reports called for the Corps and other government agencies to be prepared for foreseeable future conditions such as drought, intense rainfall, and sea level rise.
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"Sea level rise poses a real and unconventional threat to us and our installations," he said. "We must continue to take measures that we know and understand today while accelerating our efforts to learn more about what our next steps must be." The Navy protects and defends America, its allies, and its partners from harm around the world.
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"The Navy, operating for and with our partners, ensures this free flow of goods and communication and that it remains unimpeded." The Navy has installations around the world that mostly are located at sea level, and many of its coastal facilities will be dramatically affected by sea level rise, Muilenburg reported. They are exposed to flooding, storm surge, erosion, and saltwater intrusion.
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"It takes a network of like-minded navies and nations that are performing this mission together." PREPARING PUBLIC UTILITIES TO MEET FUTURE CHALLENGES The electric sector tends to think about sea level rise as part of the broader topic of climate change, said David Pearce, manager of Manhattan operations and engineering at Consolidated Edison. Climate change affects individual power plants, the distribution infrastructure, and electric power generation.
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In New York state, the Public Service Commission is leading the renewable energy division, which is setting targets for greenhouse gas reductions and the architecture of the electric grid. As an industry, the electricity generating sector has promoted energy efficiency and end-use management and invested in low-carbon or carbonless technologies for electricity generation.
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Sea level rise is clearly a severe challenge for the Netherlands. More extreme storms are expected to increase erosion of the dunes protect
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In the 1990s threats of severe river flooding led the country to begin rethinking its flood policy. Instead of flood protection, policies began to emphasize flood management.
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