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Coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise: a spatial–temporal assessment framework

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Abstract

The scientific community is confident that warming of the Earth’s climate is unequivocal. Sea-level rise, which poses potential threats to coastal areas, is one of the most recognised possible impacts of this climate change. The nonlinearities, complexities, and spatial and temporal lags are common characteristics of coastal processes driven by human and natural interaction. With the acknowledgement of the complexity and dynamic nature of coastal systems, this paper introduces a spatial–temporal assessment framework, for addressing both the temporal and spatial variations, when assessing the vulnerability of natural and human systems in coastal areas. The framework is based upon a combination of system dynamics (SD) modelling and geographical information systems by taking into account spatial (x, y, z) and temporal (t) dimensions. The strategy of the adopted approach is to use the loose coupling approach by which a spatial model component is incorporated into a SD model component through a data converter.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from the Griffith Climate Change Response Program (GCCRP) and the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management (CIEM)—Griffith School of Engineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith School of Engineering, Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Oz Sahin & Sherif Mohamed

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  1. Oz Sahin
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  2. Sherif Mohamed
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Correspondence to Oz Sahin.

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Sahin, O., Mohamed, S. Coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise: a spatial–temporal assessment framework. Nat Hazards 70, 395–414 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0818-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0818-4

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