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Three Pass Approach to Coastal Risk Assessment
Citation
Sharples, C and Attwater, C and Carley, J, Three Pass Approach to Coastal Risk Assessment, Conference Papers: IPWEA National Conference on Climate Change "Responding to Sea Level Rise", August, Coffs Harbour, NSW EJ (2008) [Non Refereed Conference Paper]
Abstract
Assessment of the physical sensitivity and exposure of coasts to hazards including storm surge
flooding and erosion is an essential component of any properly comprehensive coastal vulnerability
study. With climate change resulting in greater concern over coastal hazards a confusing plethora
of coastal sensitivity assessment methods have been developed or proposed over the last few
decades. However the essential requirements of physical coastal sensitivity assessment can be
reduced to a simple conceptual framework involving three logical ‘passes’ of assessment. A First
Pass comprises the identification of shores likely to be physically sensitive to coastal hazards at all.
This involves geomorphic and topographic mapping to identify soft (erosion-prone) and low-lying
(flood prone) coasts, and can be prepared relatively rapidly for long coasts, providing a useful
indicative coastal risk assessment. Such a First Pass assessment is currently being prepared at a
national scale for Australia. A Second Pass or ‘regional’ assessment involves identifying regional
variations in the energies or processes driving the physical impacts on the potentially sensitive
shores identified in the first pass. This identifies those sensitive shores most exposed to physical
impacts, using information on wave, wind and storm climates, tidal regimes or vertical land
movement to show severity of risks and indicative time frames under different scenarios, and
making initial assessment of protection and adaptation options. Where areas have been identified
as potentially hazardous with risks likely to occur within a period of say 25 years, then a more
detailed Third Pass or ‘site-specific’ assessment would be necessary to identify and evaluate
critical local variations in shoreline sensitivity and exposure, as the basis for final design and
selection of appropriate responses to the identified hazards.
Item Details
Item Type: | Non Refereed Conference Paper |
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Keywords: | Coastal hazards; Physical impacts; Sea-level rise; Climate change, Sensitivity assessment, Geomorphology; Wave Climate |
Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
Research Group: | Physical geography and environmental geoscience |
Research Field: | Natural hazards |
Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
Objective Group: | Mitigation of climate change |
Objective Field: | Climate change mitigation strategies |
UTAS Author: | Sharples, C (Mr Chris Sharples) |
ID Code: | 55650 |
Year Published: | 2008 |
Deposited By: | Geography and Environmental Studies |
Deposited On: | 2009-03-12 |
Last Modified: | 2009-03-12 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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