Greenhouse effect, sea level rise, and coastal wetlands

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6830903

Titus, J G ^[1]

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1. Ed.

To further society's understanding of how to rationally respond to the possibility of a substantial rise in level, EPA has undertaken assessments of the impacts of sea level rise on economic development, beach erosion control strategies, salinity of estuaries and aquifers, and coastal drainage and sewage systems. Those studies have generally found that even a one-foot rise in a sea level has important implications for the planning and design of coastal facilities. This report examines the potential impacts of sea level on coastal wetlands in the United States. Coastal marshes and swamps are generally within a few feet of sea level, and hence could be lost if seal level rises significantly. Although new wetlands could form where new areas are flooded, this cannot happen where the land adjacent to today's wetlands is developed and protected from the rising sea. Once built, neighborhoods can be expected to last a century or longer. Therefore, todays coastal development could limit the ability of coastal wetlands to survive sea level in the next century. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the greenhouse effect, projections of future sea level rise, the basis for expecting significant impacts on coastal wetlands, and possible responses. Chapters 2 and 3 present case studies of the potential impacts on wetlands around Charleston, South Carolina, and Long Beach Island, New Jersey, based on field surveys. Chapter 4 presents a first attempt to estimate the nationwide impact, based on topographic maps. Finally, Chapter 5 describes measures that wetland protection officials can take today. This report neither examines the impact of sea level rise on specific federal programs nor recommends specific policy changes.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (USA). Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation
• OSTI ID: 6830903
• Report Number(s): EPA-230-05-86-013; ON: TI88015785
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABSTRACTS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
COASTAL REGIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ECOSYSTEMS
FEDERAL REGION VI
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
HUMAN FACTORS
LEADING ABSTRACT
LEVELS
LOUISIANA
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
SEA LEVEL
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
VARIATIONS
WETLANDS