Preparing for the Impact of Sea Level Rise: an Integrated approach  

Authors / CoAuthors

Woolf, M. | Hazelwood, M.

Abstract

The Australian Government, through the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, recognises the need for information that allows communities to decide on a strategy for climate change adaptation. A first pass national assessment of vulnerability to Australia's coast identified that considerable sections of the coast could be impacted by sea level rise. This assessment however, did not provide sufficient detail to allow adaptation planning at a local level. Accounting for sea level rise in planning procedures requires knowledge of the future coastline, which is still lacking. Modelling the coastline given sea level rise is complex, however. Erosion will alter the shores in varied ways around Australia's coastline, and extreme events will inundate areas that currently appear to be well above the projected sea level. Moreover, the current planning practice of designating zones with acceptable inundation risk is no longer practical when considering climate change, as this is likely to remain uncertain for some time. Geoscience Australia, with support from the DCCEE, has now conducted a more detailed study for a local area in Western Australia that was identified to be at high risk in the national assessment. The aim of the project was to develop a localised approach so that information could be developed to support adaptation to climate change in planning decisions at the community level. The approach included modelling a historical tropical cyclone and its associated storm surge for a range of sea level rise scenarios. The approach also included a shoreline translation model that forecast changes in coastal sediment transport. Inundation footprints were created and integrated with Geoscience Australia's national exposure information system, NEXIS, to develop impact assessments on building assets, roads and railways. Studies such as this can be a first step towards enabling the planning process to adapt to increased risk.

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nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

72886

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Keywords

• External PublicationConference Paper

( Theme )

• risk assessment

( Theme )

• coasts

( Theme )

• marine

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

• Published_Internal

Publication Date

2011-09-19T00:00:00

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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unknown

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geoscientificInformation

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