scholarly journals COMBINING COASTAL DESIGN-FLOOD ELEVATIONS AND SEA LEVEL RISE PROJECTIONS

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
James Houston
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Design Consideration ◽  
Design Flood ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Flood Level ◽  
Rising Sea Level ◽  
And Sea Level

Design-flood elevations with associated exceedance probabilities are often determined for coastal projects. Rising sea level introduces another design consideration that needs to be combined with the design-flood level. However, most sea level projections do not have exceedance probabilities that can be used in conjunction with the design flood to obtain total flood elevations with exceedance probabilities. This paper shows how to combine design-flood elevations with sea level rise projections that have exceedance probabilities, such as those of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (Bindoff et al 2007) or Houston (2012a), to obtain total elevations at desired exceedance probabilities over particular intervals.

A radiocarbon chronology of Holocene climate change and sea-level rise at the Delmarva Peninsula, US Mid-Atlantic Coast

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110482
Author(s):  
Kelvin W Ramsey ◽  
Jaime L. Tomlinson ◽  
C. Robin Mattheus
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Delmarva Peninsula ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Cool Climate ◽  
And Sea Level

Radiocarbon dates from 176 sites along the Delmarva Peninsula record the timing of deposition and sea-level rise, and non-marine wetland deposition. The dates provide confirmation of the boundaries of the Holocene subepochs (e.g. “early-middle-late” of Walker et al.) in the mid-Atlantic of eastern North America. These data record initial sea-level rise in the early Holocene, followed by a high rate of rise at the transition to the middle Holocene at 8.2 ka, and a leveling off and decrease in the late-Holocene. The dates, coupled to local and regional climate (pollen) records and fluvial activity, allow regional subdivision of the Holocene into six depositional and climate phases. Phase A (>10 ka) is the end of periglacial activity and transition of cold/cool climate to a warmer early Holocene. Phase B (10.2–8.2 ka) records rise of sea level in the region, a transition to Pinus-dominated forest, and decreased non-marine deposition on the uplands. Phase C (8.2–5.6 ka) shows rapid rates of sea-level rise, expansion of estuaries, and a decrease in non-marine deposition with cool and dry climate. Phase D (5.6–4.2 ka) is a time of high rates of sea-level rise, expanding estuaries, and dry and cool climate; the Atlantic shoreline transgressed rapidly and there was little to no deposition on the uplands. Phase E (4.2–1.1 ka) is a time of lowering sea-level rise rates, Atlantic shorelines nearing their present position, and marine shoal deposition; widespread non-marine deposition resumed with a wetter and warmer climate. Phase F (1.1 ka-present) incorporates the Medieval Climate Anomaly and European settlement on the Delmarva Peninsula. Chronology of depositional phases and coastal changes related to sea-level rise is useful for archeological studies of human occupation in relation to climate change in eastern North America, and provides an important dataset for future regional and global sea-level reconstructions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document