Learn More
Hide
Download
Download a zip file that includes all the web pages and downloadable files from the student materialsFor the Instructor
These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.Structural Strategies
Unit 3 described many of the strategies that stakeholders can use to prepare for sea level rise. These are summarized in the table below, along with potential costs and benefits (cost-benefit analysis is discussed in more detail in the next section).
|
Structure Type |
Potential costs |
Potential benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Structure | ||
| Dikes | Vulnerable to wave action and erosion | Excellent protection against storm surge and moderate sea level rise |
| Seawalls | Expensive to build; enhances erosion on the seaward side of the wall; limits access to and views of the water | Strong protection against storm surge, waves, and sea level rise |
| Breakwaters | Provide only limited protection against storm surge and do not protect against sea level rise | Protect against waves and erosion |
| Groins | Encourage down-drift erosion | Provide limited protection against waves; can encourage up-drift accretion of sand and sediment |
| Jetties | Encourage down-drift erosion | Stabilize and protect navigation channels at river mouths and tidal inlets |
| Soft Structures | ||
| Living shoreline | Can be over-topped by high storm surge | Strong protection against erosion, moderate protection against low storm surge and wave action; if not blocked by roads, buildings or other impermeable cover, can retreat shoreward with sea level rise |
| Dune restoration | Subject to erosion, may periodically require expensive re-nourishment with sand | Provides strong protection against waves, most storm surge, and moderate sea level rise |
| Managed retreat / multi-layered protection | ||
| Managed retreat | Moving or demolishing the most vulnerable structures can be very financially expensive and can damage the local community and economy if not done with care and sensitivity | Can significantly reduce potential loss of life and property by moving homes and business out of the most exposed locations |
| Multi-layered protection | Generally more expensive and complicated to implement than single- layer strategies | Can significantly reduce exposure compared to single-layer strategies |
| Smart Building | ||
| Elevated construction | May not protect against waves; can add significantly to cost of construction | Protects against storm surge, applicable to many different building types |
| Floating construction | Does not protect against wave damage; difficult to implement for many building types; difficult to connect utilities | Strong protection against storm surge and gradual sea level rise |
Activate Your Learning
This exercise is not for credit but you are required to understand this material for the formal assessments in this module.
Brainstorming Exercise
This table lists some of the most important costs and benefits for these strategies, but it is not exhaustive: depending on the natural and human context on which the strategy is implemented, it may have other costs and benefits in addition to those listed here. To explore these other possible costs and benefits, choose three of the strategies from the above table. For each of these three strategies, use the blanks below to list one other possible cost or benefit (not included in the table for that strategy). When answering, draw on the lessons you have already learned from this course, particularly in Unit 3.Strategy 1
Other Cost/Benefit of Strategy 1
Strategy 2
Other Cost/Benefit of Strategy 2
Strategy 3
Other Cost/Benefit of Strategy 3
