Download or read book Sea Level Rise for the Coasts of California Oregon and Washington written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tide gauges show that global sea level has risen about 7 inches during the 20th century, and recent satellite data show that the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating. As Earth warms, sea levels are rising mainly because ocean water expands as it warms; and water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is flowing into the ocean. Sea-level rise poses enormous risks to the valuable infrastructure, development, and wetlands that line much of the 1,600 mile shoreline of California, Oregon, and Washington. As those states seek to incorporate projections of sea-level rise into coastal planning, they asked the National Research Council to make independent projections of sea-level rise along their coasts for the years 2030, 2050, and 2100, taking into account regional factors that affect sea level. Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future explains that sea level along the U.S. west coast is affected by a number of factors. These include: climate patterns such as the El Niño, effects from the melting of modern and ancient ice sheets, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. Regional projections for California, Oregon, and Washington show a sharp distinction at Cape Mendocino in northern California. South of that point, sea-level rise is expected to be very close to global projections. However, projections are lower north of Cape Mendocino because the land is being pushed upward as the ocean plate moves under the continental plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. However, an earthquake magnitude 8 or larger, which occurs in the region every few hundred to 1,000 years, would cause the land to drop and sea level to suddenly rise.
Download or read book Vulnerable U S Shorelines and Coasts written by Adam T. Procházka and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beach erosion is a chronic problem along many open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one coastal region to another. To meet this national need, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Hawaii, Alaska and the Great Lakes. This book explores the development of a standard and repeatable method for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that periodic, systematic, internally consistent updates regarding coastal erosion and land loss can be made nationally.
Download or read book Advancing the Science of Climate Change written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-10 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.
Download or read book The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-30 with total page 755 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book America s Most Vulnerable Coastal Communities written by Joseph T. Kelley and published by Geological Society of America. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Sea level is rising, and yet Americans continue to develop beaches with little regard. In this volume, a group of coastal geologists discusses the startling saga of ten U.S. East and Gulf Coast shoreline communities (plus Puerto Rico and some western Europe strands) and the problems created by their inevitable interaction with natural processes in this highly dynamic geologic environment. The authors discuss the geologic context of the hazards of each site as the history of societal responses and their environmental impacts. Response to the natural coastal processes that threaten lives and buildings is carried out in a context of local, state and national politics with fixed short-term engineering solutions (beach replenishment, seawalls) generally favored over longer-term approaches (moving back, prohibition of seawalls). This essential GSA Special Paper foreshadows the impending rise of sea level and the myriad of shoreline responses and political controversies it will provoke."--Publisher's description.
Download or read book A New Coast written by Jeffrey Peterson and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is a timely book... [It] should be mandatory reading..." — Minnesota Star Tribune More severe storms and rising seas will inexorably push the American coastline inland with profound impact on communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. In A New Coast, Jeffrey Peterson draws a comprehensive picture of how storms and rising seas will change the coast. Peterson offers a clear-eyed assessment of how governments can work with the private sector and citizens to be better prepared for the coming coastal inundation. Drawing on four decades of experience at the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Senate, Peterson presents the science behind predictions for coastal impacts. He explains how current policies fall short of what is needed to effectively prepare for these changes and how the Trump Administration has significantly weakened these efforts. While describing how and why the current policies exist, he builds a strong case for a bold, new approach, tackling difficult topics including: how to revise flood insurance and disaster assistance programs; when to step back from the coast rather than build protection structures; how to steer new development away from at-risk areas; and how to finance the transition to a new coast. Key challenges, including how to protect critical infrastructure, ecosystems, and disadvantaged populations, are examined. Ultimately, Peterson offers hope in the form of a framework of new national policies and programs to support local and state governments. He calls for engagement from the private sector and local and national leaders in a “campaign for a new coast.” A New Coast is a compelling assessment of the dramatic changes that are coming to America’s coast. Peterson offers insights and strategies for policymakers, planners, and business leaders preparing for the intensifying impacts of climate change along the coast.
Download or read book Wetlands and Natural Resource Management written by Jos T.A. Verhoeven and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-11-22 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a broad and well-integrated overview of recent major scientific results in wetland science and their applications in natural resource management issues. The contributors, internationally known experts, summarize the state of the art on an array of topics, divided into four broad areas: The Role of Wetlands for Integrated Water Resources Management: Putting Theory into Practice; Wetland Science for Environmental Management; Wetland Biogeochemistry; Wetlands and Climate Change Worldwide.
Download or read book Living Shorelines written by Donna Marie Bilkovic and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-03-03 with total page 956 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living Shorelines: The Science and Management of Nature-based Coastal Protection compiles, synthesizes and interprets the current state of the knowledge on the science and practice of nature-based shoreline protection. This book will serve as a valuable reference to guide scientists, students, managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in the design and implementation of living shorelines. This volume provides a background and history of living shorelines, understandings on management, policy, and project designs, technical synthesis of the science related to living shorelines including insights from new studies, and the identification of research needs, lessons learned, and perspectives on future guidance. Makes recommendations on the correct usage of the term living shorelines Offers guidance for shoreline management in the future Includes lessons learned from the practice of shoreline restoration/conservation Synthesizes regional perspectives to identify strategies for the successful design and implementation of living shorelines Reviews specific design criteria for successful implementation of living shorelines Provides detailed discussions of social, regulatory, scientific and technical considerations to justify and design living shoreline projects International perspectives are presented from leading researchers and managers in the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia that are working on natural approaches to shoreline management. The broad geographic scope and interdisciplinary nature of contributing authors will help to facilitate dialogue and transfer knowledge among different disciplines and across different regions. This book provides coastal communities with the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary to implement effective shoreline management that enhances ecosystem services and coastal resilience now and into the future.
Download or read book Beach Nourishment and Protection written by National Research Council (U.S.). Marine Board. Committee on Beach Nourishment and Protection and published by Haworth Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides insight into the technical, economic, environmental, and policy implications of beach nourishment and protection, with examples and suggested research directions. This book also addresses what is known about the environmental impacts of beach nourishment, and identifies what outcomes should be targeted for monitoring by project officials.
Download or read book Sea Level Rise and the Vulnerability of Coastal Peoples written by Anthony Oliver-Smith and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts written by Committee on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Science, Engineering, and Planning: Coastal Risk Reduction and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hurricane- and coastal-storm-related losses have increased substantially during the past century, largely due to increases in population and development in the most susceptible coastal areas. Climate change poses additional threats to coastal communities from sea level rise and possible increases in strength of the largest hurricanes. Several large cities in the United States have extensive assets at risk to coastal storms, along with countless smaller cities and developed areas. The devastation from Superstorm Sandy has heightened the nation's awareness of these vulnerabilities. What can we do to better prepare for and respond to the increasing risks of loss? Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts reviews the coastal risk-reduction strategies and levels of protection that have been used along the United States East and Gulf Coasts to reduce the impacts of coastal flooding associated with storm surges. This report evaluates their effectiveness in terms of economic return, protection of life safety, and minimization of environmental effects. According to this report, the vast majority of the funding for coastal risk-related issues is provided only after a disaster occurs. This report calls for the development of a national vision for coastal risk management that includes a long-term view, regional solutions, and recognition of the full array of economic, social, environmental, and life-safety benefits that come from risk reduction efforts. To support this vision, Reducing Coastal Risk states that a national coastal risk assessment is needed to identify those areas with the greatest risks that are high priorities for risk reduction efforts. The report discusses the implications of expanding the extent and levels of coastal storm surge protection in terms of operation and maintenance costs and the availability of resources. Reducing Coastal Risk recommends that benefit-cost analysis, constrained by acceptable risk criteria and other important environmental and social factors, be used as a framework for evaluating national investments in coastal risk reduction. The recommendations of this report will assist engineers, planners and policy makers at national, regional, state, and local levels to move from a nation that is primarily reactive to coastal disasters to one that invests wisely in coastal risk reduction and builds resilience among coastal communities.
Download or read book Coastal Hazards written by Charles W. Finkl and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 839 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the gamut of coastal hazards that result from short-term low-frequency events and have high-magnitude and far-reaching impacts on coastal zones the world over. Much of the world’s population now lives in low-lying coastal zones that are inherently vulnerable to natural hazards such as flooding from hurricanes, tropical storms and northeastern storm surges; shoreline (beach and dune) erosion; cliff and bluff failures; and saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers used for drinking water supplies. In addition to the usual range of hydrometeorological disasters in coastal zones, this book covers tsunami impacts and warning systems as well as global perspectives of sea-level rise impacts and human perceptions of potential vulnerabilities resulting from rip currents that cause many drownings each year on beaches. Today, the use of numerical models that help predict vulnerabilities and provide a basis for shore protection measures is important in modern scientific and engineering systems. Final considerations focus on human actions in the form of the urbanization and industrialization of the coast, shore protection measures, and indicate how environmental degradation around coastal conurbations exacerbates the potential for unwanted impacts. Strategies for environmental management in coastal zones, from low-lying wetlands to high cliffs and rocky promontories, are highlighted as a means of living in harmony with Nature and not trying to conquer it.
Download or read book Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Download or read book Coastal Construction Manual written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005 written by Louise Wallendorf and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 848 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection contains 80 papers presented at the Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005 Conference, held in Charleston, South Carolina, May 8-11, 2005.
Download or read book Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2011 written by Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (American Society of Civil Engineers) and published by Amer Society of Civil Engineers. This book was released on 2011 with total page 954 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection contains 79 papers addressing the challenges and lessons learned along the coastlines of the world, presented at the 2011 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference, held in Anchorage, Alaska, June 25-29, 2011.
Download or read book Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-05-04 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like ocean beaches, sheltered coastal areas experience land loss from erosion and sea level rise. In response, property owners often install hard structures such as bulkheads as a way to prevent further erosion, but these structures cause changes in the coastal environment that alter landscapes, reduce public access and recreational opportunities, diminish natural habitats, and harm species that depend on these habitats for shelter and food. Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts recommends coastal planning efforts and permitting policies to encourage landowners to use erosion control alternatives that help retain the natural features of coastal shorelines.
