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Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management
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Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 11242

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Peter Sheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-6580, USA
Interests: coastal and oceanographic engineering; climate change impact on coastal urban and natural ecosystems; compound flooding due to tropical cyclones, sea-level rise and precipitation; green infrastructure for coastal flood reduction; coastal vulnerability and adaptation management; harmful algal bloom
Dr. Trevor Meckley

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
Interests: ecology; effects of sea-level rise; nature-based solutions; coastal vulnerability and adaptation management; integrating climate science into decision-making; modeling; science funding
Dr. Karen Thorne

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Davis, CA 95616, USA
Interests: ecology; climate change impact on coastal ecosystems; sea-level rise; conservation biology; coastal vulnerability and adaptation management; storm impacts; modeling
Dr. Vladimir Paramygin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-6580, USA
Interests: coastal and oceanographic engineering; Hydrodynamics; green infrastructure for coastal flood reduction; coastal vulnerability and adaptation management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal regions, where 40–60% of the world population live, are experiencing increasing coastal hazards which threaten the sustainability of both the natural and built environments.

Accelerating sea-level rise (projected to reach one meter globally by 2100), compounded with more intense and wetter cyclones and growing coastal development, are expected to greatly increase the vulnerability of coastal communities, critical infrastructures, and coastal resources including wetlands, beaches, and coral reefs which offer protection to coastal hazards. The existing framework and paradigm for coastal protection, based on the vulnerability analysis of existing coastal conditions, greatly underestimates the coastal vulnerability and is inadequate for coastal communities to plan for sustainability in the 21st century. There is an urgent need to develop a new framework and paradigm for coastal vulnerability analysis based on the best available science and a holistic (model- and data-driven) approach which addresses the compound impact of various drivers and their interactions in the remainder of the 21st century. Based on the results of science-based vulnerability analysis, coastal communities can develop adaptation management plans including the restoration of wetlands and coral reefs, the revision of flood management standard and building codes, the development of future coastal flood maps, strategic migration, etc.

We aim to produce a Special Issue to inform the scientific community and coastal communities of the latest advances in coastal vulnerability and adaptation management. We welcome original contributions or review papers in the following general themes by researchers and planners, as well as stakeholders and policy makers.

  • Coastal flood and/or wind hazard in the 21st century;
  • New paradigm for future coastal hazard and vulnerability analysis;
  • Impact of sea-level rise and other stressors on coastal natural or built environment;
  • Adaptation planning and management of coastal built or built environment considering multiple stressors;

Example topics are listed below:

  • Coastal flood hazard analysis considering multiple drivers including sea-level rise, cyclones, extreme precipitation, tornadoes, etc.;
  • Interaction of storm surge, wave, tide, and sea-level rise in causing coastal flooding;
  • Novel coastal modeling approach for future coastal hazard and vulnerability analysis;
  • Compound wind and flood damages of coastal built environment;
  • Coastal vulnerability and adaptation in low-income communities;
  • Migration of coastal wetlands (mangroves and marshes) driven by multiple stressors;
  • Enhancing building codes to minimize coastal property damage;
  • Geo Tools for assessing coastal vulnerability and adaptation management;
  • Nuisance tide flooding and groundwater flooding;
  • Holistic science-based assessment of the role of green infrastructures for the mitigation of future coastal hazards;
  • Assessment of ecosystem service value of natural and Nature-based features for hazard protection;
  • Impact of climate change on water quality (e.g., harmful algal bloom) and quantity (e.g., minimum flow criteria);
  • Success story of coastal adaptation management to minimize future coastal vulnerability.

Prof. Dr. Peter Sheng
Dr. Trevor Meckley
Dr. Karen Thorne
Dr. Vladimir Paramygin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 4780 KiB  
Article
Exploring Ecological, Morphological, and Environmental Controls on Coastal Foredune Evolution at Annual Scales Using a Process-Based Model
by Selwyn S. Heminway, Nicholas Cohn, Elizabeth H. Davis, Andrew White, Christopher J. Hein and Julie C. Zinnert
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3460; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083460 - 21 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1383
Abstract
Coastal communities commonly rely upon foredunes as the first line of defense against sea-level rise and storms, thus requiring management guidance to optimize their protective services. Here, we use the AeoLiS model to simulate wind-driven accretion and wave-driven erosion patterns on foredunes with [...] Read more.
Coastal communities commonly rely upon foredunes as the first line of defense against sea-level rise and storms, thus requiring management guidance to optimize their protective services. Here, we use the AeoLiS model to simulate wind-driven accretion and wave-driven erosion patterns on foredunes with different morphologies and ecological properties under modern-day conditions. Additional sets of model runs mimic potential future climate changes to inform how both morphological and ecological properties may have differing contributions to net dune changes under evolving environmental forcing. This exploratory study, applied to represent the morphological, environmental, and ecological conditions of the northern Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA, finds that dunes experiencing minimal wave collision have similar net volumetric growth rates regardless of beach morphology, though the location and density of vegetation influence sediment deposition patterns across the dune profile. The model indicates that high-density, uniform planting strategies trap sediment close to the dune toe, whereas low-density plantings may allow for accretion across a broader extent of the dune face. The initial beach and dune shape generally plays a larger role in annual-scale dune evolution than vegetation cover. For steeper beach slopes and/or low dune toe elevations, the model generally predicts wave-driven dune erosion at the annual scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management)
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21 pages, 7963 KiB  
Article
A Science and Community-Driven Approach to Illustrating Urban Adaptation to Coastal Flooding to Inform Management Plans
by Wendy Meguro, Josephine Briones, German Failano and Charles H. Fletcher
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2849; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072849 - 29 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1633
Abstract
Academic research plays a pivotal role in illustrating and testing potential future adaptation strategies to sea level rise in low-lying coastal communities and enhances local municipalities’ adaptation plans. In Waikīkī, Hawai‘i, the built environment is increasingly impacted by flooding from multiple drivers: sea [...] Read more.
Academic research plays a pivotal role in illustrating and testing potential future adaptation strategies to sea level rise in low-lying coastal communities and enhances local municipalities’ adaptation plans. In Waikīkī, Hawai‘i, the built environment is increasingly impacted by flooding from multiple drivers: sea level rise-induced direct marine inundation, storm-drain backflow, and groundwater inundation (GWI), compounded by high-wave runup, extreme tides, heavy rainfall, and a shallow groundwater table. Given Waikīkī’s economic and cultural importance, in-place accommodation of flooding is desired, yet implementation plans have not been developed. By combining current scientific research, urban design visualizations, and community feedback, the interdisciplinary research team advanced intentional communication between the many parties seeking increased flood resilience through the end of the 21st century. Site-specific architectural renderings were a key tool to prompt structured community input on the coordination, prioritization, policy, and feasibility of adaptation measures for buildings, utilities, transportation, and open space. Public outreach reports document that the majority of participants thought all adaptation strategies presented were applicable, especially relocating critical equipment in buildings and streets. Proposed methods to develop sea level rise-adjusted minimum building elevation requirements may inform local municipalities’ future codes to minimize coastal property damage. The multi-year iterative process fostered growing participation in hosted and invited events, further improving the publicly distributed research products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management)
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19 pages, 3525 KiB  
Article
A Data-Driven Approach for Assessing Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Applied to Puget Sound, Washington State, USA
by Ian Miller, Avery Maverick, Jim Johannessen, Chloe Fleming and Seann Regan
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5401; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065401 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3019
Abstract
Sea level rise (SLR) will exert pressures on assets with social value, including things such as infrastructure and habitats, in the coastal zone. Assessing and ranking the vulnerability of those assets can provide insights that support planning and projects that can reduce those [...] Read more.
Sea level rise (SLR) will exert pressures on assets with social value, including things such as infrastructure and habitats, in the coastal zone. Assessing and ranking the vulnerability of those assets can provide insights that support planning and projects that can reduce those vulnerabilities. In this study, we develop a quantitative, data-drive framework for calculating a sea level rise vulnerability score, using publicly available spatial data, for 111,239 parcels in Puget Sound, Washington State, USA. Notably, our approach incorporates an assessment of coastal erosion, as well as coastal flooding, in an evaluation of the exposure of each parcel, and impacts to habitats are quantified alongside impacts to existing infrastructure. The results suggest that sea level rise vulnerability in Puget Sound is widely distributed, but the overall distribution of scores is heavily skewed, suggesting that adaptation actions directed at a relatively small number of parcels could yield significant reductions in vulnerability. The results are also coupled with a concurrently developed social vulnerability index, which provides additional insight regarding those people and places that may be predisposed to adverse impacts from SLR-related hazards. We find that the proposed approach offers advantages in terms of advancing equitable SLR-related risk reduction, but also that the results should be carefully interpreted considering embedded assumptions and data limitations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management)
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Review

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18 pages, 1468 KiB  
Review
Coastal Forest Dieback in the Northeast USA: Potential Mechanisms and Management Responses
by Rachael Sacatelli, Marjorie Kaplan, Glen Carleton and Richard G. Lathrop
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6346; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086346 - 7 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
A number of studies have documented coastal forest dieback as a historical and ongoing process across the Northeast US region. To further develop a current understanding of the state of knowledge, review adaptation and response measures available to land managers, and to identify [...] Read more.
A number of studies have documented coastal forest dieback as a historical and ongoing process across the Northeast US region. To further develop a current understanding of the state of knowledge, review adaptation and response measures available to land managers, and to identify research and management needs, we conducted a literature review, interviewed experts, and convened a workshop bringing together scientists and land managers. A synthesis of the above suggests that the most important proximate mechanisms driving coastal forest dieback in the Northeast US are sea level rise-induced changes in the groundwater table in concert with increased saltwater inundation related to storm surges. What sets our conceptual model apart from prior work is the greater emphasis placed on the role of rising fresh groundwater levels in increasingly stressing the forest vegetation and decreasing regeneration potential. Episodic storm surges often exceed the salinity or saturation tolerances of existing trees leading to a wave of mortality that leaves the site inhospitable to subsequent regeneration. Maintaining functioning coastal forests across the Northeast US will require that the marsh and forest ecosystems be considered as an integrated unit when determining an appropriate adaptation response. With a better understanding of each of the sea level rise-induced mechanisms at work in these ecosystems, managers may be better prepared for the changes ahead and facilitate proactive adaptation strategies. Easements or buyouts are vital to ensure that there is ample space for the marsh and upland systems to migrate landward together. Forward thinking land use planning is needed to promote the “no net loss” of both marsh and coastal forest ecosystems to ensure the continued provision of their vital services to society. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management)
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Other

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28 pages, 2932 KiB  
Tutorial
Assessing Vulnerability and Prioritization of Cultural Assets for Climate Change Planning in Collier County, Southwest Florida
by Rachael Kangas, Sara Ayers-Rigsby, Michael Savarese, Vladimir Paramygin and Y. Peter Sheng
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4741; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114741 - 2 Jun 2024
Viewed by 956
Abstract
Cultural resources are often overlooked in climate change and resiliency planning, despite them being integral to community identity and the restoration of a sense of normalcy after significant weather events. This vulnerability assessment demonstrates how cultural resources can be included in planning efforts, [...] Read more.
Cultural resources are often overlooked in climate change and resiliency planning, despite them being integral to community identity and the restoration of a sense of normalcy after significant weather events. This vulnerability assessment demonstrates how cultural resources can be included in planning efforts, and how they can be prioritized based on specific criteria. To complete this assessment, a working group with local land managers and cultural resource professionals was formed, and members employed a sophisticated Geo Tool, ACUNE (Adaptation of Coastal Urban and Natural Ecosystems) for climate adaptation, to predict how cultural resources throughout Collier County, Florida, would be impacted in two specific climate scenarios. The working group selected ten significant sites in the county and used ACUNE to prioritize action at these sites, using a matrix of hazard exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and the environmental, social, and economic consequences of the loss of these sites. Based on the results of our case study vulnerability assessment of cultural resources in Collier County, the next decade (2020 to 2030) has the potential to increase the number of sites at risk of storm flooding from 267 to 318, alerting managers that immediate action is needed for the sites of greatest value. The analysis of 10 case study sites is presented to demonstrate an approach for land managers and other cultural resource professionals to prioritize action at their own sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sea-Level Rising—Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation Management)
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