Adapting to sea-level rise in the US Southeast: The influence of built infrastructure and biophysical factors on the inundation of coastal areas
- Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States). Energy, Environment and Resources Center
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, New York, NY (United States). Goddard Inst. for Space Studies
- Florida Univ., Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
The earth` s global mean surface air temperature has increased by 0.5{degrees}C over the past 100 years. This warming trend has occurred concurrently with increases in the concentration and number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases may cause this trend to accelerate in the future and result in a net increase in the earth`s global mean surface air temperature of 1.5 to 4.5{degrees}C by the year 2100. An increase of this magnitude could cause sea surface temperatures to increase would cause sea levels to rise -from thermal expansion of the sea, and the addition of melt waters from alpine glaciers and continental ice sheets. To allow for the cost-effective analysis of the impacts that sea-level rise may have on the US Southeast, a method is needed that will allow sites that are potentially at risk to be identified for study. Previously, no objective method was available to identify such sites. This project addresses this problem by using a geographic data base with information on both physical and climatological factors to identify coastal areas of the US Southeast that are at risk to inundation or accelerated erosion due to sea-level rise. The following six areas were selected for further study from the many identified as being at high risk: Galveston, Texas; Caminada Pass, Louisiana; Bradenton Beach, Florida; Daytona Beach, Florida; McClellanville, South Carolina; and Nags Head, North Carolina. For each study area the amount of land, by land use type, in danger from inundation from three sea-level-rise scenarios was calculated. The calculated values were based on elevation alone.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10129954
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/CDIAC-54; ON: DE93007799
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: DN: Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 3915; PBD: Nov 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
US EAST COAST
EROSION
US GULF COAST
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
COASTAL REGIONS
SEA LEVEL
FLORIDA
TEXAS
LOUISIANA
SOUTH CAROLINA
NORTH CAROLINA
RISK ASSESSMENT
SHORES
LAND USE
FORECASTING
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
540350
540250
540310
540210
SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES
BASIC STUDIES