10:00 am
11:00 am
Conference Room 127
6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
COASTAL AND MARINE SYSTEM SCIENCE PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - CORPUS CHRISTI
SUBJECT: Social-Ecological System Approach for Assessing Impacts of Sea-Level Rise and the Benefits of Natural and Nature-Based Features
Global sea level has increased, on average, 1.5 cm per decade and may rise an additional 0.3-1m by 2100 (IPCC 2014). Sea-level rise (SLR) will result in landscape changes that will expose a greater number of people and infrastructure to coastal hazards and reduce the flow of ecosystem services. Creating communities that are more resilient requires consideration of potential future states of the environment and communities’ adaptive capacity. The main objective of this dissertation is to assess the social impact of SLR and the benefits provided by natural and nature-based features (NNBF’s) under changing conditions in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. This study will: 1) Quantify the economic impact of storm surge flooding under various SLR scenario, 2) Quantify storm-protection benefits provided by NNBF’s. 3) Identify institutional barriers for implementing the use of NNBF’s for coastal resilience.
Chapters 1 and 2 will utilize HAZUS-MH, a GIS-based modeling tool to calculate the economic and social impacts of coastal floods (FEMA 2013). Chapter 3 will use a mixed-methods comparative case study approach that combines content analysis of documents and technical data and supplements with qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with key informants. Throughout this research, stakeholders will guide the selection of sites, data input and product design. Collaboration with the Gulf Sentinel Site will facilitate stakeholder exchange.