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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15060978/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- The most important direct physical effects of a significant rise in mean sea level are: coastal erosion,
shoreline inundation owing to higher normal tide levels plus increased temporary surge levels during storms,
and saltwater intrusion primarily into estuaries and groundwater aquifers (see Ippen, 1966; Komar, 1976;
Sorensen, 1978; and Todd, 1980, for basic discussions of these phenomena). With a few exceptions, a
significant sea level rise will increase the normally adverse effects of these phenomena.
In many coastal areas, economic considerations will not justify a response to these sea level rise
effects. Where a response is justified, it may be political (zoning to prevent growth in areas of potential
inundation and erosion), structural (building of coastal dikes to control inundation or saltwater intrusion
barriers for aquifers) or, most likely, a combined political/structural response.
This chapter describes structural methods for controlling erosion, inundation, and salinity intrusion
caused by sea level rise, including typical costs and the expected general effectiveness of these methods (in
light of the anticipated sea level rise scenarios).1 Both "hard" and "soft" structural responses are presented.
The term hard structures refers tostructures such as seawalls and levees. Soft structural responses include
artificial beach nourishment to counter erosion and flooding or injection of water into a well along the coast
to develop a saltwater intrusion, barrier in an aquifer. Both the cost and the effectiveness of any structural
control method are extremely site dependent and quite variable from site to site.
The next section of this chapter covers methods for the control of erosion and inundation, while the
third discusses control of salinity intrusion. Inundation is a major cause of, and is difficult to separate from,
shore erosion where erosion is active; thus the two are presented together. Each section discusses, as
necessary, the processes involved in coastal erosion, inundation, and salinity intrusion; the basic approaches
used to control these phenomena; and details of the specific control methods including their costs and
effectiveness. The final section of the chapter summarizes the key points and suggests how these control
methods might be applied at a given site.
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- Florida International University
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