Building Blocks: A Quantitative Approach for Evaluating Coastal Vulnerability

Abstract

Climate change and associated factors such as global and regional sea-level rise; the upsurge in high-intensity flooding events; and coastal erosion are pulse and press disturbances that threaten to increase landslides in coastal regions. Under these circumstances; a rigorous framework is required to evaluate coastal vulnerability in order to plan for future climate change scenarios. A vast majority of coastal vulnerability assessments across the globe are evaluated at the macro level (city scale) but not at the micro level (small town scale); particularly in the United Kingdom (UK). In order to fill this vital research gap; the current study established a coastal vulnerability index termed here as the Micro Town Coastal Vulnerability Index (MTCVI) and then applied it to Barton-on-Sea; which is a small coastal town of the Hampshire region; England; UK. MTCVI was evaluated for Barton-on-Sea coastal vulnerability by integrating both novel and existing parameters. Results suggest that the entire shoreline frontage (2 km) exhibits very high coastal vulnerability and is prone to various coastal hazards such as landslides; erosion; and wave intrusion. This suggests that Barton-on-Sea coastal amenities will require a substantial improvement in shoreline protection measures. In this study; GIS (geographic information system) coastal vulnerability and landslide maps were generated; and these maps can be used by the local authorities; district councils; coastal engineers; and planners to improve and design coastal management strategies under the climate change scenarios. Meanwhile; the methodology used in this study could also be applied to any other suitable location in the world depending on the availability of the data.

Hurricanes as a Major Driver of Coastal Erosion in the Mississippi River Delta: A Multi-Decadal Analysis of Shoreline Retreat Rates at Bay Champagne, Louisiana (USA)

“…Many coastal zones throughout the world are increasingly vulnerable to shoreline retreat [1][2][3][4]. A multitude of environmental factors, such as accelerated sea level rise, coastal subsidence, and enhanced storm activity, are thought to contribute to the process of shoreline retreat in different coastal regions and geomorphological settings.…”

Household Level Vulnerability Analysis—Index and Fuzzy Based Methods

“…Answering the needs of particular applications: the modification of methods and models to fit particular geographic areas and study needs (e.g., by introducing new parameters and models for their evaluation) [1,[10][11][12][13][18][19][20][21]; • Improving existing methods: the development of more complex and sophisticated methods using Fuzzy Logic, Analytical Hierarchy Processes, and similar models [14][15][16][17][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]; • Supporting coastal management: including more socio-economic issues, decision making processes, or public awareness [33,35,36].…”

“…Vulnerability assessments at the regional level are not detailed enough to be included in coastal area land use planning or in planning adaptation measures, particularly in urban areas [3,7,19]. In order to enable local authorities to include climate change impacts in coastal area management activities, there is the need for a method at a large-scale level to assess each building, hereafter called the household level method.…”

Combining Artificial Neural Networks and GIS Fundamentals for Coastal Erosion Prediction Modeling

“…Changes in costal LULC can trigger coastal erosion through direct interference on the sediment transport cycles and pathways [9][10][11]. The usual answers to cope with these issues involve hard and/or soft protection defense measures that mitigate coastal erosion at specific sites and at 2 of 14 micro levels [12,13]. However, an integrated coastal zone management approach that helps national and regional stakeholders and local communities deal with coastal erosion while benefiting from the coastal sustainable economic opportunities is presently lacking.…”