Academic Programs Supported by MARI

Seminar Series - Spring 2014: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies of Civil/Coastal Engineers for Future Sea Level Rise

April 4, 2014, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Port/Coastal Infrastructure and Climate Change: An Adaptive Management Approach

John Headland, Moffatt & Nichol, NYC

This lecture describes an adaptive management approach to Climate Change. It starts with a review of various Sea Level Rise (SLR) scenarios. Thence it presents adaptive strategies for: (1) Ports and Harbors, (2) Coastal Structures, (3) Marshes, and (4) Beaches. Examples are given for the east and west coast. Practical tools for evaluating the impacts of SLR are summarized and illustrated by example. The overall intent is to argue for the development of proactive plans to manage anticipated SLR. The hope is that such activities will result in staid, effective and communicable strategies for threatened locations.