USGS discusses impacts of climate change on coastal areas

The U.S. Geological Survey held a briefing today on how science can address climate change on vulnerable coasts. Various environmental experts gave presentations to a full and attentive audience about how to anticipate and address climate change on coastal areas.

Robert Thieler of USGS said that the current climate change situation can “reasonably be described as a crisis,” and that as people move closer to the coast, the coast is also moving closer to them due to rising sea level and beach erosion.

Todd Davison of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service spoke about the economic implications of rising sea levels. He said that 14 of the nation’s 20 largest cities are coastal, which means they have a significant investment in infrastructure, commerce, and other economic areas.

Braxton Davis from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control emphasized the need to devise adaptation strategies for climate change scenarios now in order to be prepared to deal with threats when they arrive, and said that any environmental information must be scaled down appropriately for communities to utilize on a locally relevant level.