Assessment Of Potential Climate Change Impacts On Australian Coastal Communities - Results From A First Pass National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment  


Authors / CoAuthors

Skene, D. | Sharples, C. | Mount, R. | Arthur, C. | Corby, N. | Wallace, L. | Lacey, M. | Cechet, B. | Nadimpalli, K. | Baker, C.

Abstract

Approximately 85% of Australia's population and much of its critical infrastructure is focused around the coastal zone. Continued migration to the coast and increasing coastal development creates challenges for coastal management and planning. It is anticipated that climate change will exacerbate these challenges in the coming decades through rising sea levels and more intense and frequent storms. These impacts will lead to increased risk of inundation, storm surge and coastal erosion which will damage beaches, property and infrastructure along susceptible shorelines and low-lying coastal areas and adversely affect a significant number of Australian coastal communities. The Australian Government's Framework for a National Cooperative Approach to Integrated Coastal Zone Management identified a need to 'build a national picture of coastal zone areas that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts to better understand the risks and interactions with other stressors in the coastal zone'. Decision-makers at all government levels need access to information to assist development and planning decisions and to identify valuable human and natural assets that require protection. Further to this aim, Geoscience Australia (GA) is assisting the Department of Climate Change to develop a 'first pass' National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment. This is providing fundamental information that will support decision-makers by identifying areas in Australia's coastal zone where potential impacts may be rated as high, medium and low. Potential climate change impacts have been assessed for cyclonic winds and coastal inundation from a combination of sea-level rise and storm surge scenarios.

Product Type

document

eCat Id

68534

Contact for the resource

  Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)  
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia

  Point of contact

 
Contact instructions
Place and Communities

Keywords

  • External PublicationAbstract
( Theme )
  • DEM
( Theme )
  • GIS
( Theme )
  • climate
( Theme )
  • coasts
( Theme )
  • geomorphology
( Theme )
  • marine
Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
  • Earth Sciences
  • Published_Internal

Publication Date

2009-01-01T00:00:00

Creation Date

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - restricted

Use - license

Status

Purpose

Maintenance Information

unknown

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Lineage

Unknown

Parent Information

Extents

Reference System

Spatial Resolution

Service Information

Associations

Downloads and Links

Source Information

Source data not available.