A dedicated issue on long-term coastal adaptation

摘要

The October 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C describes widespread dire consequences of global warming occurring as soon as 2040 (IPCC 2018), including global rise in sea levels for most coastal regions. As a result, flooding and erosion will increasingly threaten coastal regions as sea level rise increases tidal, seasonal, and storm extremes and extends impacts further inland over time. Long-term (decadal-to-century) planning and design for adaptation to mitigate the impacts of natural processes and anthropogenic use are in their early stages and are often hindered by a lack of tools, information, and political will. This dedicated issue of Shore & Beach focuses on "Long-Term Coastal Adaptation Strategies." It explores how coastal regions are planning and making decisions for coastal adaptation considering long-term uncertainties in climate and environmental forcing, human use, regional economics and investments in coastal infrastructure. Working and engineering with nature is a theme of many of this issue's papers, and they demonstrate how understanding coastal hydrodynamics and transport processes can guide regional solutions and serve to develop natural approaches to adaptation.