Assessing the Vulnerability of Coastal Communities to Extreme Storms: The Case of Revere,MA., USA

Climate change may affect the frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution of severe coastal storms. Concurrent sea-level rise would raise the baseline of flooding during such events. Meanwhile, social vulnerability factors such as poverty and disability hinder the ability to cope with storms and storm damage. While physical changes are likely to remain scientifically uncertain into the foreseeable future, the ability to mitigate potential impacts from coastal flooding may be fostered by better understanding the interplay of social and physical factors that produce human vulnerability. This study does so by integrating the classic causal model of hazards with social, environmental, and spatial dynamics that lead to the differential ability of people to cope with hazards. It uses Census data, factor analysis, data envelopment analysis, and floodplain maps to understand the compound social and physical vulnerability of coastal residents in the city of Revere, MA, USA. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Storm impacts along European coastlines. Part 1: The joint effort of the MICORE and ConHaz Projects

The current paper discusses the topic of marine storm impact along European coastlines, presenting results from two FP7 Projects currently focusing on this topic, one working on the physical aspects of the problem (MICORE) and the other one on the socio-economic implications (ConHaz).The MICORE Project aims to provide on-line predictions of storm-related physical hazards (hydrodynamic as well as morphodynamic). The ConHaz Project addresses the socio-economic implications should these (or other) hazards actually materialize. Together these projects aim to deliver crucial information for emergency response efforts, while realizing the practical limitations for information processing and dissemination during crisis situations.The MICORE Project has developed and demonstrated on-line tools for reliable predictions of the morphological impact of marine storm events in support of civil protection mitigation strategies. The project specifically targeted the development of early warning and information systems to support short term emergency response in case of an extreme storm event. The current paper discusses in detail the outcome of an activity of databasing historical storm data. No clear changes in storminess were observed, except for some storm proxies (e.g. surges) and only at some locations (e.g. northern Adriatic, southern Baltic, etc.).The ConHaz Project undertook a desktop study of the methods normally used for evaluating the impact of marine storms and the associated coastal hazards considering direct costs, costs due to disruption of production processes, indirect costs, intangible costs, and costs of adaptation and mitigation measures. Several methods for cost estimation were reviewed. From the review it emerged that normally end-users only evaluate direct costs after the storms, while the cost of adaptation and mitigation measures is only done strategically in the context of Integrated Coastal Zone Management plans. As there is no standardized method for cost evaluations in this field, it is suggested that clear guidelines should be produced on the basis of simplicity for use by end-users. The integration between historical databases of the physical parameters of storms and detailed cost evaluation information would support the development of a knowledge background in end-users and justify the development of adaptation strategies.     

Does planned retreat matter? Investigating land use change under the impacts of flooding induced by sea level rise

Coastal regions worldwide are during the process of rapid urban expansion. However, expanded urban settlements in land-sea interfaces have been faced with unprecedented threats from climate change related hazards. Adaptation to coastal hazards has received increasing attention from city managers and planners. Adaptation and land management practices are largely informed by remote sensing and land change modeling. This paper establishes a framework that integrates land change analysis, coastal flooding, and sea level rise adaptation. Multilayer perceptron neural network, similarity learning, and binary logistic regression were applied to analyze spatiotemporal changes of residential, commercial, and other built-up areas in Bay County, Florida, USA. The prediction maps of 2030 were produced by three models under four policy scenarios that included the population relocation strategy. Validation results reveal that three models return overall acceptable accuracies but generate distinct landscape patterns. Predictions indicate that planned retreat of residents can greatly reduce urban vulnerability to sea level rise induced flooding. While managed realignment of the coast brings large benefits, the paper recommends different mixes of adaptation strategies for different parts of the globe, and advocates the application of reflective land use planning to foster a more disaster resilient coastal community.     

Coastal flooding in the Northeastern United States due to climate change

With dense population and development along its coastline, the northeastern United States is, at present, highly vulnerable to coastal flooding. At five sea level stations in the United States, from Massachusetts to New Jersey, sea level rise (SLR) trends and tidal effects were removed from the hourly sea level time series and then frequency analysis was performed on the positive remaining anomalies that represent storm surge heights. Then using eustatic SLR estimates for lower and higher greenhouse gas emissions scenarios and assumed trends in local sea level rise, new recurrence intervals were determined for future storm surges. Under the higher emissions scenario, by 2050, the elevation of the 2005 100-year event may be equaled or exceeded at least every 30 years at all sites. In more exposed US cities such as Boston, Massachusetts and Atlantic City, New Jersey, this could occur at the considerably higher frequency of every 8 years or less. Under the lower emissions scenario, by 2050, the elevation of the 2005 100-year event may be equaled or exceeded at least every 70 years at all sites. In Boston and Atlantic City, this could occur every 30 years or less.     

Storm impacts along European coastlines. Part 2: lessons learned from the MICORE project

This paper describes the MICORE approach to quantify for nine field sites the crucial storm related physical hazards (hydrodynamic as well as morphodynamic) in support of early warning efforts and emergency response.As a first step historical storms that had a significant morphological impact on a representative number of sensitive European coastal stretches were reviewed and analysed in order to understand storm related morphological changes and how often they occur around Europe. Next, an on-line storm prediction system was set up to enable prediction of storm related hydro- and morphodynamic impacts. The system makes use of existing off-the-shelf models as well as a new open-source morphological model. To validate the models at least one year of fieldwork was done at nine pilot sites. The data was safeguarded and stored for future use in an open database that conforms to the OpenEarth protocols.To translate quantitative model results to useful information for Civil Protection agencies the Frame of Reference approach ( [Van Koningsveld et al., 2005] and [Van Koningsveld et al., 2007] ) was used to derive Storm Impact Indicators (SIIs) for relevant decision makers. The acquired knowledge is expected to be directly transferred to the civil society trough partnerships with end-users at the end of the MICORE project.     

Fostering coastal resilience to climate change vulnerability in Bangladesh,Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay: a cross-country comparison

This paper describes a comparative study of four different cases on vulnerability, hazards and adaptive capacity to climate threats in coastal areas and communities in four developing countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay. Coastal areas are vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR), storm surges and flooding due to their (i) exposure, (ii) concentration of settlements, many of which occupied by less advantaged groups and (iii) the concentration of assets and services seen in these areas. The objective of the paper is twofold: (i) to evaluate current evidence of coastal vulnerability and adaptive capacity and (ii) to compare adaptation strategies being implemented in a sample of developing countries, focusing on successful ones. The followed approach for the case evaluation is based on (i) documenting observed threats and damages, (ii) using indicators of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptive capacity status and (iii) selecting examples of successful responses. Major conclusions based on cross-case comparison are (a) the studied countries show different vulnerability, adaptive capacity and implementation of responses, (b) innovative community-based (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and (c) early warning systems are key approaches and tools to foster climate resilience. A recommendation to foster the resilience of coastal communities and services is that efforts in innovative adaptation strategies to sea-level rise should be intensified and integrated with climate risk management within the national adaption plans (NAPAs) in order to reduce the impacts of hazards.     

海平面上升叠加风暴潮对2050年中国海洋经济的影响研究

本研究基于ArcGIS的淹没模型与夜光遥感的GDP空间化处理结果,同时结合对2050年中国海洋经济增长预测,评估海平面上升叠加风暴潮三种情景对中国沿海各省市海洋经济的影响效应。模拟结果表明:海平面上升叠加风暴潮与天文潮的CHmax-0.3 m情景下全国海洋经济损失最大,2050年损失达到35444.59亿元,占海洋生产总值的9.39%;从2050年各省海洋经济损失比例来看（CHmax-0.3 m情景）,辽宁省损失比例最大,其次为广东省,福建省和广西省;从各省海洋经济损失的绝对值来看,在海平面上升0.3 m的三种情景下,广东、辽宁、江苏、山东均为海洋经济损失绝对值最大的四个省份。     

Sea-Level Rise: Implications for Water Resources Management

Globally, sea level has been rising for more than the last one hundred years, and is expected to do so into the foreseeable future, and at an accelerating rate. The direct influences of sea-level rise on water resources come principally from the following: new or accelerated coastal erosion; more extensive coastal inundation and higher levels of sea flooding; increases in the landward reach of sea waves and storm surges; seawater intrusion into surface waters and coastal aquifers; and further encroachment of tidal waters into estuaries and coastal river systems. The impacts of sea-level rise are likely to be felt disproportionately in certain areas, reflecting both natural and socio-economic factors that enhance the levels of risks. The opportunity to learn about the likely nature of, and most appropriate adaptation to, the anticipated impacts of sea-level rise on water resources is arguably best developed in rapidly subsiding coastal areas, and especially in low-lying deltas where subsidence rates are typically much larger than the historic rise in global mean sea level. Significantly, such areas are often major centres of population and of economic activity, thereby highlighting the human dimensions of sea-level rise. Sound management of the risks to water resources associated with sea-level rise requires enhancing adaptive capacity, mainstreaming adaptation, harmonizing responses to extreme events, variability and long-term change and strengthening regional and international cooperation and coordination. In this regard, the policies and initiatives of international organisations are not always entirely consistent with the needs of developing countries.     

The crestline approach for assessing the development of coastal flooding due to sea level rise

One of the most pressing issues in studying the impacts of sea level rise (SLR) triggered by climate change is understanding the development of the hazard of permanent coastal flooding. The issue persists because available approaches are based on the mapping of the inundated area where they explore the coastal flooding development across terrain elevations, that is—horizontally. In addition, they overlook the existing structures along or in the vicinity of the coastline, which have inherent hydraulic properties that may affect the development of such flooding. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel approach for assessing the development of permanent coastal flooding due to SLR at cross sections along the coastline, that is—vertically, in full consideration of underlying hydraulic properties of the existing coastline. An approach was developed using analogy of existing coastline to a contiguous weir. This approach was named crestline approach and was developed as a four step GIS-based approach that could be applied at any coastal zone. An example application on one of the top ranked cities in the world prone to the SLR threat has been provided to illustrate exactly how to apply the crestline approach. The novelty of this approach lies in its ability to accurately identify the specific locations where coastal flooding will initiate, in full consideration of existing natural/manmade coastal structures. This study is significant for the opportunities it provides to analysts and decision makers to better understand the development of permanent coastal flooding.     

Climate controls on dust storm occurrence in Maowusu Desert, Inner Mongolia, north China

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太阳风暴对短波电子装备性能的影响及应对措施

目的掌握太阳风暴对短波电子装备性能的影响及应对措施,为系统设计提供参考。方法分析太阳风暴的表现形式,并从作用距离、目标检测、定位精度等方面给出太阳风暴对短波超视距雷达、短波通信等装备的影响。结果电离层SID、电离层暴可造成短波通信中断,短波通信可用频段变窄。电离层强吸收可降低天波超视距雷达作用距离和目标定位精度,电子浓度、电离层虚高快速变化影响超视距雷达检测性能和定位精度,负相电离层暴使天波超视距雷达可用频段严重变窄。地球磁暴期间,电磁场突变产生的强电压和电流有可能烧毁用于天、地波超视距雷达的电子设备。电离层非规则现象对超视距雷达有严重影响。结论太阳风暴对电子装备性能有利有弊,要分别对待。系统设计时应充分考虑太阳风暴的影响,在出现太阳风暴时,采取针对性措施降低其影响。     

基于TSA-BP模型的温州站台风风暴潮增水预测

台风风暴潮灾害通常会对沿海地区造成巨大损失,因此,准确预测台风风暴潮增水对沿海地区的防灾、减灾工作具有现实意义。本文根据现有风暴潮增水预测研究的成果,建立了基于被囊群算法（tunicate swarm algorithm）优化的BP神经网络模型,将该模型应用于台风风暴潮增水预测研究中。本文选取影响温州验潮站的3个台风作为研究对象,收集并建立了3个台风影响验潮站过程的129个逐时数据样本。利用新模型对温州站进行风暴潮增水预测,结果表明,该模型与BP神经网络相比克服了陷入局部最优解的缺陷,与粒子群优化的BP神经网络模型相比,提升了模型收敛速度,具有更好的预测精度及稳定性。     

山东海滨城市主要海洋地质灾害述评与减防灾措施探讨

海滨城市的海洋地质灾害可分为两大类型：其一是由纯内外自然地质作用造成的危及城乡安全的灾害，如地震、断裂活动、海岸侵蚀、风暴潮；其二是人为活动与自然地质作用相互影响形成的灾害，如过量开采地下水和滥伐森林等引起的地面沉降、海水入侵与倒灌、不合理的海岸工程布局引起的海岸流场变化导致的岸线突变。本文目的在于探讨山东沿海这些灾害类型的分布与成因，进而提出减少或防止这些灾害危害的措施。     

Catastrophes and Climate Change: Concerns and Possible Countermeasures of the Insurance Industry

In the last few decades, the international insurance industry has been confronted with a drastic increase in the scope and frequency of great natural disasters. The trend is primarily attributable to the continuing steady growth of the world population and the increasing concentration of people and economic values in urban areas. An additional factor is the global migration of populations and industries into areas such as coastal regions, which are particularly exposed to natural hazards. The natural hazards themselves, on the other hand, are showing a change for the worse as many atmospheric extremes are strongly influenced by global warming. In addition to the problems the insurance industry has with regard to pricing, capacity and loss reserves, the assessment of insured liabilities, preventive planning and the proper adjustment of catastrophe losses are gaining importance. The present problems will be dramatically aggravated if the greenhouse predictions come true. The changing probability distributions of many processes in the atmosphere will force up the frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, bush fires, tropical and extratropical cyclones, tornados, hailstorms, floods and storm surges in many parts of the world with serious consequences for all types of property insurance, apart from the consequences of the stratospheric ozone destruction for health and life insurance. Rates will have to be raised and in certain areas insurance cover will only be available after considerable restrictions have been imposed, as for example significant deductibles and low liability or loss limits. In areas of high insurance density the loss potential of individual catastrophes can reach a level at which the national and international insurance industries will run into serious capacity problems. Recent disasters showed the disproportionately high participation of reinsurers in extreme disaster losses and the need for more risk transparency if the insurance industry is to fulfil its obligations in an increasingly hostile environment.     

A prehistoric tsunami induced long-lasting ecosystem changes on a semi-arid tropical island—the case of Boka Bartol (Bonaire, Leeward Antilles)

The Caribbean is highly vulnerable to coastal hazards. Based on their short recurrence intervals over the intra-American seas, high-category tropical cyclones and their associated effects of elevated storm surge, heavy wave impacts, mudslides and floods represent the most serious threat. Given the abundance of historical accounts and trigger mechanisms (strike-slip motion and oblique collision at the northern and southern Caribbean plate boundaries, submarine and coastal landslides, volcanism), tsunamis must be considered as well. This paper presents interdisciplinary multi-proxy investigations of sediment cores (grain size distribution, carbonate content, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility, microfauna, macrofauna) from Washington-Slagbaai National Park, NW Bonaire (Leeward Antilles). No historical tsunami is recorded for this island. However, an allochthonous marine layer found in all cores at Boka Bartol reveals several sedimentary criteria typically linked with tsunami deposits. Calibrated ¹⁴C data from these cores point to a palaeotsunami with a maximum age of 3,300 years. Alternative explanations for the creation of this layer, such as inland flooding during tropical cyclones, cannot entirely be ruled out, though in recent times even the strongest of these events on Bonaire did not deposit significant amounts of sediment onshore. The setting of Boka Bartol changed from an open mangrove-fringed embayment into a poly- to hyperhaline lagoon due to the establishment or closure of a barrier of coral rubble during or subsequent to the inferred event. The timing of the event is supported by further sedimentary evidence from other lagoonal and alluvial archives on Bonaire.     

瑞雷波探测技术在公路隧道超前地质预报中的应用

超前地质预报是预防公路隧道施工环节发生灾害的重要技术手段。本文对瑞雷波探测技术应用于公路隧道超前地质预报的可行性进行了分析,介绍了瑞雷波技术的探测原理和现场施工方法,运用工程实例说明瑞雷波探测技术应用于公路隧道超前地质预报具有施工快速简单、资料处理成果直观、探测精度较高等优点,但也存在对于异常的属性不能作出准确判断的不足,并根据工程实践,提出了瑞雷波探测技术今后的研究方向。     

沙尘天气对我国北方城市大气环境质量的影响

采用2001—2006年沙尘天气的统计数据以及城市空气污染指数(API),分析了沙尘天气对沙尘源区和影响区代表城市的空气质量影响,并分析了2005—2007年兰州和北京春季沙尘天气与非沙尘天气下气溶胶光学厚度与波长指数的变化特征.结果表明:近些年沙尘天气呈先减少后略微增加但总体呈缓慢下降的趋势;春季沙尘天气加重了城市大气污染,对沙尘源区内代表城市的影响超过了区域本底污染指数的50%,使兰州、银川、呼和浩特和包头的春季非沙尘天气API平均值分别增加了64%,53%,86%和90%;使影响区内代表城市,如北京、天津、太原、石家庄、沈阳、济南、西安和郑州的春季非沙尘天气API平均值分别增加了85%,62%,49%,57%,29%,41%,27%和45%;沙尘天气使城市大气气溶胶光学厚度升高,气溶胶波长指数降低.      

基于BAS-BP模型的风暴潮灾害损失预测

风暴潮灾害是中国沿海地区最严重的灾害之一,近年来由其带来的经济损失均占海洋灾害总损失的90%以上,因此构建一个简单准确的损失预估模型显得尤为重要。本文以现有风暴潮灾害研究为基础建立了基于天牛须搜索（beetle antennae search）优化的BP神经网络模型,将其应用到风暴潮灾害经济损失预评估中。本文收集了福建省1994~2016年记录比较完善的29个风暴潮灾害损失数据,建立风暴潮灾害损失预评估指标体系并利用熵值法对指标因子进行预处理,消除数据冗余信息对预测的影响。对模型进行仿真测试,结果表明,与标准BP神经网络相比新模型有效避免了网络陷入局部极小值的可能,且与常规优化算法相比,克服了训练时间长、收敛速度慢的缺点,具有更好的鲁棒性和预测精度。     

中石化广西液化天然气项目海洋自然灾害风险评估

中石化广西液化天然气（LNG）项目是广西沿海地区引进的国家重点清洁能源工程,其抵御海洋自然灾害的能力直接影响广西地区的经济发展速度。本研究结合LNG项目海岸防御工程的设计标准及现状,进行风暴潮、海浪自然灾害的设计标准及设计参数的风险分析,将推算得到的防御工程应达到的理论顶高程与实测高程进行对比,评估各段抵御海洋自然灾害的能力。研究发现无论是设计高潮位还是考虑海平面上升之后的极端高潮位均大于工程设计值;东南偏南（SSE）向波高的评估结果均大于设计值,其他方向波高的评估值与设计值差别不大;东南、西南段海岸防御工程的实测最低高程要低于评估高程,其他段具有一定的防御海洋自然灾害能力。     

沙漠地区沙尘气溶胶含量变化的原因分析

利用中国大陆气溶胶指数(TOMS AI)、太阳辐射、沙尘能见度、降水量等观测资料,对中国西北部沙漠地区沙尘气溶胶含量进行分析.结果表明,沙漠地区AI值不但取决于沙尘暴的发生,而且取决于太阳辐射.这表明沙尘暴起沙模型和尘卷风与干热对流的联合起沙模型互为补充,沙漠地区上空的沙尘气溶胶含量是它们共同作用的结果,而由太阳辐射引发的尘卷风与干热对流较沙尘暴过程更为重要.