Coastal Resilience
This screen shot of the Coastal Resilience interactive DSS shows a future scenario for flooding and inundation during a five-year storm event, assuming a moderate rate of sea level rise. Examples of ecological and socio-economic data layers are activated. Click image to enlarge.
Overview
The Coastal Resilience project developed an interactive decision support system (DSS) featuring a web-based mapping application that facilitates efforts to adapt to climate change. The goal was to provide municipal- and state-level planners and other decision-makers with a platform to understand future impacts of flooding and inundation associated with sea level rise and storm surge, and to plan and adapt accordingly for ecosystem protection and community vulnerability of coastal towns and villages on Long Island, New York, USA.
Geographic Location
The project focused on a section of the southern coast of Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The approach and technology are intended to be scalable and transferred to other locations. More than 7 million people live on low-lying Long Island, which is at risk of inundation from sea level rise and coastal flooding. Along the shore, barrier islands, dunes, and wetlands provide critical habitat for natural communities, and they serve as buffers against storm surge for human communities.
Project Partners
- The Nature Conservancy
- Local government staff, elected officials, and stakeholders
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Association of State Floodplain Managers
- Columbia Center for Climate Systems Research
- NASA–Goddard
- University of Southern Mississippi
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara
- Pace University Land Use Law Center
Funding provided by:
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- The Roslyn Savings Foundation
- Arrow Electronics
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