[Coral-List] new paper on wave-driven flooding, climate change, and reefs

Douglas Fenner douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
Wed Jul 29 16:37:22 EDT 2015


*The influence of coral reefs and climate change on wave-driven flooding of
tropical coastlines* - A numerical model, XBeach, calibrated and validated
on field data collected at Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the
Republic of Marshall Islands, was used to examine the effects of different
coral reef characteristics on potential coastal hazards caused by
wave-driven flooding and how these effects may be altered by projected
climate change. The results presented herein suggest that coasts fronted by
relatively narrow reefs with steep fore reef slopes (~1:10 and steeper) and
deeper, smoother reef flats are expected to experience the highest wave
runup. Wave runup increases for higher water levels (sea level rise),
higher waves and lower bed roughness (coral degradation), which are all
expected effects of climate change. Rising sea levels and climate change
will therefore have a significant negative impact on the ability of coral
reefs to mitigate the effects of coastal hazards in the future.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL064861/abstract?campaign=wlytk-41855.5282060185


Citation: Quataert, E., C. Storlazzi, A.van Rooijen, O. Cheriton, and A.van
Dongeren (2015), The influence of coral reefs and climate change on
wave-driven flooding of tropical coastlines. Geophys. Res. Lett., 42


Open access.


Cheers,  Doug

-- 
Douglas Fenner
Contractor with Ocean Associates, Inc.
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA

phone 1 684 622-7084

Join the International Society for Reef Studies.  Membership includes a
subscription to the journal Coral Reefs, there are discounts for pdf
subscriptions and developing countries.  www.fit.edu/isrs/

"belief in climate change is optional, participation is not."

The governor of Hawaii has signed legislation directing Hawaii's utilities
to generate 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2045.

New study warns of dangerous climate change risks to the earth's oceans
The Guardian (newspaper)

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/jul/02/new-study-warns-of-dangerous-climate-change-risks-to-the-earths-oceans?CMP=twt_science-gdnscience

based on:

Contrasting Futures for Ocean and Society from Different Anthropogenic CO₂
Emissions Scenarios.  Science

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6243/aac4722.abstract

website:  http://independent.academia.edu/DouglasFenner

blog: http://ocean.si.edu/blog/reefs-american-samoa-story-hope


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