Back to Search Start Over

Joint Projections of US East Coast Sea Level and Storm Surge

Authors :
Little, Christopher M
Horton, Radley M
Kopp, Robert E
Oppenheimer, Michael
Vecchi, Gabriel A
Villarini, Gabriele
Source :
Nature Climate Change.
Publication Year :
2015
Publisher :
United States: NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI), 2015.

Abstract

Future coastal flood risk will be strongly influenced by sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. These two factors are generally considered independently. Here, we assess twenty-first century changes in the coastal hazard for the US East Coast using a flood index (FI) that accounts for changes in flood duration and magnitude driven by SLR and changes in power dissipation index (PDI, an integrated measure of tropical cyclone intensity, frequency and duration). Sea-level rise and PDI are derived from representative concentration pathway (RCP) simulations of 15 atmosphere- ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). By 2080-2099, projected changes in the FI relative to 1986-2005 are substantial and positively skewed: a 10th-90th percentile range 4-75 times higher for RCP 2.6 and 35-350 times higher for RCP 8.5. High-end Fl projections are driven by three AOGCMs that project the largest increases in SLR, PDI and upper ocean temperatures. Changes in PDI are particularly influential if their intra-model correlation with SLR is included, increasing the RCP 8.5 90th percentile FI by a further 25%. Sea-level rise from other, possibly correlated, climate processes (for example, ice sheet and glacier mass changes) will further increase coastal flood risk and should be accounted for in comprehensive assessments.

Details

Language :
English
Database :
NASA Technical Reports
Journal :
Nature Climate Change
Notes :
NA11OAR4310101, , NNX14AB99A
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
edsnas.20150019769
Document Type :
Report
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2801