InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Section 2: Introduction to Coastal Zone Hazards: Long and Short-term Processes of Change and Their Impacts on Society > Module 4: Understanding Sea Level Change > Optional Extra Practice: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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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.

Optional Extra Practice: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer

What about other areas of the U.S.? How might SLR impact other areas, including some areas where you might visit?

Another tool for visualizing sea level rise can be found at NOAA's Digital Coast website.The Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer can be used to visualize the impact of sea level rise in different areas of the U.S. The user interface is similar to the USGS-produced viewer we just looked at in Activity 2, and should be self-explanatory. If you would like to read more about this tool please check out the following pdf document from NOAA.


As you work with this tool think about these questions - you don't have to answer them, but they might be useful to think about as you move toward your final project in the course, so they might not be a bad thing to think about.

  1. Most of you have been to a coastal community for vacation with your family or friends, or some of you may have lived in such a setting. In any case, using the viewer, navigate to the area where you stayed or an area where you would like to visit someday. Based on the viewer, what is projected to happen to the coastline under scenarios of low, moderate, and significant sea level rise conditions to the areas where you visited or lived (or would like to visit in the event that you have not previously been to the coast)? Based on these projections to what extent would the infrastructure including roads, bridges, telephones, etc., be impaired and what would happen to elements of the physical environment?
  2. Millions of people live within a few feet of sea level, whether directly on the coast or inland along interior waterways (i.e., rivers, estuaries, etc.). Even though areas like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, PA can be protected from some of the impacts of major storms on the coast, consider the impact of high water to these areas. What might sea level rise do to the areas around interior waterways?
  3. Think about another coastal place that you always wanted to visit? What might happen to that coastal location due to sea level rise? Think about built environments as well as natural environments that serve important ecosystem services.

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »