Final Memo for A Handbook for Resource Managers to Understand and Utilize Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Wetland Models for Ecosystem Management under Future Conditions
Dates
Acquisition
2015-09-29
Citation
Thomas W Doyle, Final Memo for A Handbook for Resource Managers to Understand and Utilize Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Wetland Models for Ecosystem Management under Future Conditions: .
Summary
A handbook for resource managers was produced to describe the science and simulation models for understanding the dynamics and impacts of sea-level rise on our coastal ecosystems. The focus of this guide was to categorize and describe the suite of data, methods, and models, their design, structure, and application, for hindcasting and forecasting the potential impacts of sea-level rise in coastal environments. Basic illustrations of the components of the Earth’s hydrosphere and effects of plate tectonics, planetary orbits, and glaciation are explained to understand the long-term cycles of historical sea-level rise and fall. Discussion of proper interpretation of contemporary sea level rates and trends from tide gauge stations and satellite [...]
Summary
A handbook for resource managers was produced to describe the science and simulation models for understanding the dynamics and impacts of sea-level rise on our coastal ecosystems. The focus of this guide was to categorize and describe the suite of data, methods, and models, their design, structure, and application, for hindcasting and forecasting the potential impacts of sea-level rise in coastal environments. Basic illustrations of the components of the Earth’s hydrosphere and effects of plate tectonics, planetary orbits, and glaciation are explained to understand the long-term cycles of historical sea-level rise and fall. Discussion of proper interpretation of contemporary sea level rates and trends from tide gauge stations and satellite altimetry missions are presented to show their complementary aspects and value for understanding variability in sea-level rise and land motion for different coastal reaches of the U.S. Examples of the different types and classes of hydrology and ecosystem models used to predict potential effects of future sea-level rise at local and regional scale applications are presented. Coastal land managers, engineers, and scientists will benefit from this synthesis of tools and models that have been developed for projecting causes and consequences of sea-level change on the landscape and seascape.
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Final Report.pdf
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Purpose
Coastal wetlands of the Southeastern United States are undergoing retreat and migration
from increasing tidal inundation and saltwater intrusion attributed to climate variability
and sea-level rise. Much of the literature describing potential sea-level rise projections
and modeling predictions are found in peer-reviewed academic journals or government
technical reports largely suited to reading by other Ph.D. scientists who are more familiar
or engaged in the climate change debate. Various sea-level rise and coastal wetland
models have been developed and applied of different designs and scales of spatial and
temporal complexity for predicting habitat and environmental change that have not
heretofore been synthesized to aid natural resource managers of their utility and
limitations. Training sessions were conducted with Federal land managers with U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and NOAA National Estuarine Research
Reserves as well as state partners and nongovernmental organizations across the northern
Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas to educate and to evaluate user needs and
understanding of concepts, data, and modeling tools for projecting sea-level rise and its
impact on coastal habitats and wildlife. As a result, this handbook was constructed from
these training and feedback sessions with coastal managers and biologists of published
decision-support tools and simulation models for sea-level rise and climate change
assessments. A simplified tabular context was developed listing the various kinds of
decision-support tools and ecological models along with criteria to distinguish the source,
scale, and quality of information input and geographic data sets, physical and biological
constraints and relationships, datum characteristics of water and land elevation
components, utility options for setting sea-level rise and climate change scenarios, and
ease or difficulty of storing, displaying, or interpreting model output. The handbook is
designed to be a primer to understanding sea-level rise and a practical synthesis of the
current state of knowledge and modeling tools as a resource guide for DOl land
management needs and facilitating Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) research
and conservation initiatives.
Communities
National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
