A COASTAL DATABASE FOR GLOBAL IMPACT ANDVULNERABILITY ANALYSIS

摘要

This paper examines the challenges that have emerged from the developmentrnof a global coastal database for coastal impact and vulnerability analysis of sea-level risernwithin the DINAS-COAST project. The paper addresses the issue of data collection forrnsuch large-scale coastal assessments. How to best utilise the limited available data tornmodel the coast for vulnerability analysis is the central theme within the paper. Based onrnthe needs of the DINAS-COAST project and the available global data, a model tornsegment the coast into similar physical, socio-economic and administrative units isrnpresented. The paper outlines the approach that has been developed within DINASCOASTrntowards segmenting the coast: modelling the coast within its total behaviouralrnenvironment. It examines the physical structure of the coastal zone, and in particular thernnature of landforms and coastal sediment within the system. The paper considers howrnthese physical attributes may be effectively used in the segmentation of the coastal zonernto reflect the variation in vulnerability within the system.