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 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 Coasts and Estuaries written by Eric Wolanski and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 730 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coasts and Estuaries: The Future provides valuable information on how we can protect and maintain natural ecological structures while also allowing estuaries to deliver services that produce societal goods and benefits. These issues are addressed through chapters detailing case studies from estuaries and coastal waters worldwide, presenting a full range of natural variability and human pressures. Following this, a series of chapters written by scientific leaders worldwide synthesizes the problems and offers solutions for specific issues graded within the framework of the socio-economic-environmental mosaic. These include fisheries, climate change, coastal megacities, evolving human-nature interactions, remediation measures, and integrated coastal management. The problems faced by half of the world living near coasts are truly a worldwide challenge as well as an opportunity for scientists to study commonalities and differences and provide solutions. This book is centered around the proposed DAPSI(W)R(M) framework, where drivers of basic human needs requires activities that each produce pressures. The pressures are mechanisms of state change on the natural system and Impacts on societal welfare (including well-being). These problems then require responses, which are the solutions relating to governance, socio-economic and cultural measures (Scharin et al 2016). - Covers estuaries and coastal seas worldwide, integrating their commonality, differences and solutions for sustainability - Includes global case studies from leading worldwide contributors, with accompanying boxes highlighting a synopsis about a particular estuary and coastal sea, making all information easy to find - Presents full color images to aid the reader in a better understanding of details of each case study - Provides a multi-disciplinary approach, linking biology, physics, climate and social sciences

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 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 Structures of Coastal Resilience written by Catherine Seavitt Nordenson and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2018-06-21 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Front Cover -- Title Page -- Half Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword by Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic, The New York Times -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. Designing for Coastal Resiliency -- Chapter 2. Visualizing the Coast -- Chapter 3. Reimagining the Floodplain -- Chapter 4. Mapping Coastal Futures -- Chapter 5. Centennial Projections -- Afterword by Jeffrey P. Hebert, vice-president for adaptation and resilience, The Water Institute of the Gulf -- Endnotes -- Glossary -- Index

Download or read book Coasts in Crisis written by Gary Griggs and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human settlement of the coastal zone -- Coastal tectonics and hazards -- Tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons -- Storms, waves, coastal erosion and shoreline retreat -- Climate change and sea-level rise

Download or read book The Edge written by Kim Steinhardt and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pacific coast is the most iconic region of California and one of the most fascinating and rapidly changing places in the world. Densely populated, urbanized, and industrializedand also home to complex, fragile ecosystemsthe coast is the place where humanity and nature coexist in a precarious balance that is never perfectly stable. This is a dramatic snapshot of the California coasts past, present, and probable future in a time of climate change and expanding human activity. Written by two marine experts who grew up on the coast, The Edge is both an appreciation of the coasts natural and cultural uniqueness and a warning of the changes that threaten that uniqueness. As ocean levels rise, coastal communities are starting to erode, and entire neighborhoods have been lost to the sea. Coastal ecosystems and wildlife that were already stressed by human settlement now face new dangers. Fisheries, oil drilling, recreation, housing and environmental advocates compete to define the future of the region. A masterful and sweeping synthesis of environmental and social science, The Edge presents a comprehensive portrait of the history, people, communities, industries, ecology, and wildlife of the coast.

Download or read book A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation written by Carolyn Kousky and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tens of millions of Americans are at risk from sea level rise, increased tidal flooding, and intensifying storms. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation identifies a bold new research and policy agenda and provides implementable options for coastal communities responding to these threats. In this book, coastal adaptation experts present a range of climate adaptation policies that could protect coastal communities against increasing risk, including concrete financing recommendations. Coastal adaptation will not be easy, but it is achievable using varied approaches. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation will inspire innovative and cross-disciplinary thinking about coastal policy at the state and local level while providing actionable, realistic policy and planning options for adaptation professionals and policymakers.

Download or read book Sea Level Change in the Gulf of Mexico written by Richard A. Davis and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-18 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A must-read for Gulf Coast scientists, naturalists, and residents . . . From Florida to Mexico and along the shores of Cuba, the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico are vulnerable to sea-level rise because of their fragile and low-lying shorelines and adjacent coastal environments. In addition to wetlands, river deltas, beaches, and barrier islands, millions of people who live and work along the Gulf coast are susceptible to the affects of both intense storms in the short term and a gradual rise in sea level over the longer term. While global warming headlines any current discussion of this topic and is certainly a major factor in sea-level change, it is not the only factor. Earthquakes and other crustal shifts, the El Niño/La Niña phenomena, river impoundment and sedimentation, tides, and weather can all affect local, regional, and global sea levels. In Sea-Level Change in the Gulf of Mexico, Richard A. Davis Jr. looks at the various causes and effects of rising and falling sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico, beginning with the Gulf’s geological birth over 100 million years ago, and focusing on the last 20,000 years, when global sea levels began rising as the glaciers of the last major ice age melted. Davis reviews the current situation, especially regarding beach erosion and loss of wetlands, and offers a preview of the future, when the Gulf Coast will change markedly as the twenty-first century progresses. Amply illustrated and written in a clear, straightforward style, Sea-Level Change in the Gulf of Mexico is a valuable resource for anyone who cares deeply about understanding the past, present, and future of life along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Download or read book The Battle for North Carolina s Coast written by Stanley R. Riggs and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2011-09-05 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The North Carolina barrier islands, a 325-mile-long string of narrow sand islands that forms the coast of North Carolina, are one of the most beloved areas to live and visit in the United States. However, extensive barrier island segments and their associated wetlands are in jeopardy. In The Battle for North Carolina's Coast, four experts on coastal dynamics examine issues that threaten this national treasure. According to the authors, the North Carolina barrier islands are not permanent. Rather, they are highly mobile piles of sand that are impacted by sea-level rise and major storms and hurricanes. Our present development and management policies for these changing islands are in direct conflict with their natural dynamics. Revealing the urgency of the environmental and economic problems facing coastal North Carolina, this essential book offers a hopeful vision for the coast's future if we are willing to adapt to the barriers' ongoing and natural processes. This will require a radical change in our thinking about development and new approaches to the way we visit and use the coast. Ultimately, we cannot afford to lose these unique and valuable islands of opportunity. This book is an urgent call to protect our coastal resources and preserve our coastal economy.

Download or read book The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast written by John B. Anderson and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-24 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With strong personal and professional ties to the Gulf of Mexico, marine geologist John B. Anderson has spent two decades studying the Texas coastline and continental shelf. In this book, he sets out to answer fundamental questions that are frequently asked about the coast—how it evolved; how it operates; how natural processes affect it and why it is ever changing; and, finally, how human development can be managed to help preserve it. The book provides an amply illustrated look at ocean waves and currents, beach formation and erosion, barrier island evolution, hurricanes, and sea level changes. With an abundance of visual material—including aerial photos, historical maps, simple figures, and satellite images—the author presents a lively, interesting lesson in coastal geography that readers will remember and appreciate the next time they are at the beach and want to know: What happens to the sand that erodes from our beaches? Can beach erosion be stopped—and should we try? How much sand will be needed to stabilize our beaches? Does a hurricane have any positive impacts? How much development can the coast withstand? This entertaining and instructive book provides authoritative answers to these and other questions that are essential to our understanding of coastal change.

Download or read book Environmental Science in the Coastal Zone written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1994-02-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book assesses the dimensions of our scientific knowledge as it applies to environmental problems in the coastal zone. The volume contains 10 papers that cover different aspects of science, management, and public policy concerning the coastal zone. A consensus is presented on several key issues confronting science for developing a more holistic approach in managing this region's intense human activities and important natural resources.

Download or read book The Attacking Ocean written by Brian Fagan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-08-19 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of climate change describes the dramatic evolution and stabilization of the oceans before the rise of humans approximately 6,000 years ago, tracing a significant rise in global temperatures since 1860 and how a rising sea level is affecting world populations.

Download or read book Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Cities written by David C. Major and published by Helsinki University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-07 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guidebook presents a framework for climate adaptation planning for coastal cities, large and small, focused on the central roles of citizens, public officials, and planners. The book is designed to help all stakeholders in coastal cities understand and develop effective adaptation measures in a sustainable way. Within a framework of eight key planning steps, guidance is provided for stakeholders in the adaptation process from initial assessments of climate impacts to final planning. The work sets out general principles and methods of adaptation to climate change for many types of coastal communities. Adaptation is seen throughout the work as a process that should take into account all coastal assets, including economic, environmental, social, cultural and historical assets, with due attention to disadvantaged communities. Among the adaptation elements covered in the book are: a review of the current climate situation; climate impacts and vulnerabilities; climate models and future scenarios; physical, economic, social and other characteristics of coastal cities and towns; the range of available adaptations, including management, infrastructure, and policy adaptations; evaluation of projects and programs; and working together to develop and finance adaptations. Numerous tables are presented to help organize information and guide planning, and examples of adaptation challenges and opportunities are provided from both developed and developing coastal cities and towns. The volume is copiously illustrated, with extensive up-to-date references to provide the reader with additional sources of information.

Download or read book Troubled Waters written by Stephen J. Culver and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-09-28 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book communicates coastal geology such that the reader gets a better understanding of how scientists work and how scientific knowledge is acquired and how it progresses. It presents the human side of geologic research, including missteps, in this case, research on coastal change of the recent past, the present, and the near future. The audience for this volume is the general public, coastal managers, politicians, and decision makers in general, in the coastal realm. But the implications of this work with regard to future climate change and human responses are relevant globally.

Download or read book Sandy Beach Morphodynamics written by Derek Jackson and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-05-20 with total page 814 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sandy beaches represent some of the most dynamic environments on Earth and examining their morphodynamic behaviour over different temporal and spatial scales is challenging, relying on multidisciplinary approaches and techniques. Sandy Beach Morphodynamics brings together the latest research on beach systems and their morphodynamics and the ways in which they are studied in 29 chapters that review the full spectrum of beach morphodynamics. The chapters are written by leading experts in the field and provide introductory level understanding of physical processes and resulting landforms, along with more advanced discussions.