Coast Lines

Coast Lines
Author: Mark Monmonier
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2008-09-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226534049
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In the next century, sea levels are predicted to rise at unprecedented rates, causing flooding around the world, from the islands of Malaysia and the canals of Venice to the coasts of Florida and California. These rising water levels pose serious challenges to all aspects of coastal existence—chiefly economic, residential, and environmental—as well as to the cartographic definition and mapping of coasts. It is this facet of coastal life that Mark Monmonier tackles in Coast Lines. Setting sail on a journey across shifting landscapes, cartographic technology, and climate change, Monmonier reveals that coastlines are as much a set of ideas, assumptions, and societal beliefs as they are solid black lines on maps. Whether for sailing charts or property maps, Monmonier shows, coastlines challenge mapmakers to capture on paper a highly irregular land-water boundary perturbed by tides and storms and complicated by rocks, wrecks, and shoals. Coast Lines is peppered with captivating anecdotes about the frustrating effort to expunge fictitious islands from nautical charts, the tricky measurement of a coastline’s length, and the contentious notions of beachfront property and public access. Combing maritime history and the history of technology, Coast Lines charts the historical progression from offshore sketches to satellite images and explores the societal impact of coastal cartography on everything from global warming to homeland security. Returning to the form of his celebrated Air Apparent, Monmonier ably renders the topic of coastal cartography accessible to both general readers and historians of science, technology, and maritime studies. In the post-Katrina era, when the map of entire regions can be redrawn by a single natural event, the issues he raises are more important than ever.

A New Coast

A New Coast
Author: Jeffrey Peterson
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2019-11-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1642830127
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“This is a timely book... [It] should be mandatory reading..." — Minnesota Star Tribune More severe storms and rising seas will inexorably push the American coastline inland with profound impact on communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. In A New Coast, Jeffrey Peterson draws a comprehensive picture of how storms and rising seas will change the coast. Peterson offers a clear-eyed assessment of how governments can work with the private sector and citizens to be better prepared for the coming coastal inundation. Drawing on four decades of experience at the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Senate, Peterson presents the science behind predictions for coastal impacts. He explains how current policies fall short of what is needed to effectively prepare for these changes and how the Trump Administration has significantly weakened these efforts. While describing how and why the current policies exist, he builds a strong case for a bold, new approach, tackling difficult topics including: how to revise flood insurance and disaster assistance programs; when to step back from the coast rather than build protection structures; how to steer new development away from at-risk areas; and how to finance the transition to a new coast. Key challenges, including how to protect critical infrastructure, ecosystems, and disadvantaged populations, are examined. Ultimately, Peterson offers hope in the form of a framework of new national policies and programs to support local and state governments. He calls for engagement from the private sector and local and national leaders in a “campaign for a new coast.” A New Coast is a compelling assessment of the dramatic changes that are coming to America’s coast. Peterson offers insights and strategies for policymakers, planners, and business leaders preparing for the intensifying impacts of climate change along the coast.

Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts

Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2007-05-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309103460
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Like ocean beaches, sheltered coastal areas experience land loss from erosion and sea level rise. In response, property owners often install hard structures such as bulkheads as a way to prevent further erosion, but these structures cause changes in the coastal environment that alter landscapes, reduce public access and recreational opportunities, diminish natural habitats, and harm species that depend on these habitats for shelter and food. Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts recommends coastal planning efforts and permitting policies to encourage landowners to use erosion control alternatives that help retain the natural features of coastal shorelines.

Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington

Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309255945
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Tide gauges show that global sea level has risen about 7 inches during the 20th century, and recent satellite data show that the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating. As Earth warms, sea levels are rising mainly because ocean water expands as it warms; and water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is flowing into the ocean. Sea-level rise poses enormous risks to the valuable infrastructure, development, and wetlands that line much of the 1,600 mile shoreline of California, Oregon, and Washington. As those states seek to incorporate projections of sea-level rise into coastal planning, they asked the National Research Council to make independent projections of sea-level rise along their coasts for the years 2030, 2050, and 2100, taking into account regional factors that affect sea level. Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future explains that sea level along the U.S. west coast is affected by a number of factors. These include: climate patterns such as the El Niño, effects from the melting of modern and ancient ice sheets, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. Regional projections for California, Oregon, and Washington show a sharp distinction at Cape Mendocino in northern California. South of that point, sea-level rise is expected to be very close to global projections. However, projections are lower north of Cape Mendocino because the land is being pushed upward as the ocean plate moves under the continental plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. However, an earthquake magnitude 8 or larger, which occurs in the region every few hundred to 1,000 years, would cause the land to drop and sea level to suddenly rise.

Changing Coastline Environments

Changing Coastline Environments
Author: Jenna Tolli
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2019-07-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1725300192
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Earth's geography might seem unchanging, but it's changed greatly over the years. Some of the most obvious changes have taken place on Earth's coastlines, where the consequences of human activities are seen in a number of ways. This book explores the different ways Earth's coastlines have changed and why these changes have taken place. Through fact boxes and sidebars, readers will also learn about how people can help prevent these changes from continuing. Full-color photographs further depict the changes to Earth's coastline environments.

The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
Author: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 755
Release: 2022-04-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781009157971
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

Encyclopedia of Coastal Science
Author: Charles W. Finkl
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-06-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783319938059
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This thoroughly revised and expanded edition of the much acclaimed Encyclopedia of Coastal Science edited by M. Schwarz (Springer 2005), presents an interdisciplinary approach that includes biology, ecology, engineering, geology, geomorphology, oceanography, remote sensing, technological advances, and anthropogenic impacts on coasts. Within its covers the Encyclopedia of Coastal Science, 2nd ed. brings together and coordinates many aspects of coastal and related sciences that are widely dispersed in the scientific literature. The broadly interdisciplinary subject matter of this volume features contributions by over 280 well-known international specialists in their respective fields and provides an abundance of figures in full-color with line drawings and photographs, and other illustrations such as satellite images. Not only does this volume offer a large number of new and revised entries, it also includes an illustrated glossary of coastal geomorphology, extensive bibliographic citations, and cross-references. It provides a comprehensive reference work for students, scientific and technical professionals as well as administrators, managers, and informed lay readers. Reviews from the first edition: Awarded for Excellence in Scholarly and Professional Publishing: “Honorable Mention”, in the category Single Volume/Science from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) 2005. "The contents and approach are interdisciplinary and, under a single cover, one finds subjects normally scattered throughout scientific literature." "The topics cover a broad spectrum, so does the geographic range of the contributors. ... besides geomorphologists, biologists, ecologists, engineers, geographers, geologists, oceanographers and technologists will find information related to their respective fields ... . Inclusion of appendices ... is very useful. The illustrated glossary of geomorphology will prove very useful for many of us ... ." Roger H. Charlier, Journal of Coastal Research, Volume 21, Issue 4, Page 866, July 2005. "It is an excellent work that should be included in any carefully selected list of best science reference books of the year "Summing Up: Highly recommended. " M.L. Larsgaard, Choice, Volume 43, Issue 6, Page 989, February 2006. "This volume is a comprehensive collection of articles covering all aspects of the subject: social and economic, engineering, coastal processes, habitats, erosion, geological features, research and observation." ... "As with similar works reviewed, I chose to read articles on familiar topics to see if they covered the expected, and some on unfamiliar topics to see if they could be readily understood. The book passed both tests, but the style is denser and more fact-filled than most of the encyclopedias I have reviewed." John Goodier, Reference Reviews, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 35-36, 2006