NOAA & USGS Report: Climate Change Coastal Impacts Threaten Public Health, Safety

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recently issued a new technical report that examines and describes climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and human communities, as well as the kinds of scientific data, planning tools, and resources that coastal communities and resource managers need to help them adapt to these changes. This report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.

A key finding in the report is that all U.S. coasts are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise, erosion, storms and flooding. Another finding indicated the financial risks associated with both private and public hazard insurance are expected to increase dramatically.

The authors also emphasized that storm surge flooding and sea-level rise pose significant threats to public and private infrastructure that provides energy, sewage treatment, clean water, and transportation of people and goods. These factors increase threats to public health, safety, and employment in the coastal zone.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Expected public health impacts include a decline in seafood quality, shifts in disease patterns and increases in rates of heat-related morbidity.
• Changes in the location and the time of year when storms form can lead to large changes in where storms land and the impacts of storms. Any sea-level rise is virtually certain to exacerbate storm-surge and flooding related hazards.
• Because of changes in the hydrological cycle due to warming, precipitation events (rain, snow) will likely be heavier. Combined with sea-level rise and storm surge, this will increase flooding severity in some coastal areas, particularly in the Northeast.
• As the physical environment changes, the range of a particular ecosystem will expand, contract or migrate in response. The combined influence of many stresses can cause unexpected ecological changes if species, populations, or ecosystems are pushed beyond a tipping point.
• Although adaptation planning activities in the coastal zone are increasing, they generally occur in an ad-hoc manner and are slow to be implemented. Efficiency of adaptation can be improved through more accurate and timely scientific information, tools, and resources, and by integrating adaptation plans into overall land use planning as well as ocean and coastal management.
• An integrated scientific program will reduce uncertainty about the best ways coastal communities can to respond to sea-level rise and other kinds of coastal change. This, in turn, will allow communities to better assess their vulnerability and to identify and implement appropriate adaptation and preparedness options.

To access a copy of the report, please visit:

NOAA & USGS: Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment

Background information:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

United States Geological Survey