Application of flood risk modelling in a web-based geospatial decision support tool for coastal adaptation to climate change
A pressing problem facing coastal decision makers is the conversion of "high-level" but plausible climate change assessments into an effective basis for climate change adaptation at the local scale. Here, we describe a web-based, geospatial decision support tool (DST) that provides an asse...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/15/1457/2015/nhess-15-1457-2015.pdf |
| Summary: | A pressing problem facing coastal decision makers is the conversion of
"high-level" but plausible climate change assessments into an effective basis for
climate change adaptation at the local scale. Here, we describe a web-based,
geospatial decision support tool (DST) that provides an assessment of the
potential flood risk for populated coastal lowlands arising from future
sea-level rise, coastal storms, and high river flows. This DST has been
developed to support operational and strategic decision making by enabling
the user to explore the flood hazard from extreme events, changes in the
extent of the flood-prone areas with sea-level rise, and thresholds of
sea-level rise where current policy and resource options are no longer
viable. The DST is built in an open-source GIS that uses freely available
geospatial data. Flood risk assessments from a combination of
LISFLOOD-FP and SWAB (Shallow Water And Boussinesq) models
are embedded within the tool; the user interface enables
interrogation of different combinations of coastal and river events under
rising-sea-level scenarios. Users can readily vary the input parameters (sea
level, storms, wave height and river flow) relative to the present-day
topography and infrastructure to identify combinations where significant
regime shifts or "tipping points" occur. Two case studies demonstrate the
attributes of the DST with respect to the wider coastal community and the UK
energy sector. Examples report on the assets at risk and illustrate the
extent of flooding in relation to infrastructure access. This informs an
economic assessment of potential losses due to climate change and thus
provides local authorities and energy operators with essential information
on the feasibility of investment for building resilience into vulnerable
components of their area of responsibility. |
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| ISSN: | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |